Cracked Future
by StoryBug13
Summary: James is near his fortieth birthday, working for MI5. When a mission in Australia goes badly wrong, will James' days as an undercover operative be over? And when a campus reunion gets upstaged will everyone make it out alive? Rated T for violence in later chapters.
1. Bellyup

The Future

"Where do I go, now?" James Choke asked quietly into the concealed radio in the cuff of his sleeve.

Amy's voice came reassuringly back at him. "Second right, and then you're in. Don't forget to switch out the lights."

This irked James slightly. "I know what I'm doing, Amy,"

A snort came back at him over the radio. "Over and out,"

James Choke had been working this case for over seven months. This was the final stage. He'd been forced to miss his wedding anniversary, and his youngest daughter's ninth birthday for it. Working undercover wasn't all it was cracked up to be when you're nearing your fortieth birthday.

James turned the handle of the door. It was locked. This was no problem, as James had his lock gun with him. Some might have called it old – fashioned, but it was a lot more reliable than the lock breakers that MI5 had issued. The door creaked slightly as it opened, but James was prepared for it. Keeping his cool, he stopped the door from swinging the whole way open, and ducked under the almost invisible beam stretching between the doors. The beam was designed to set off an alarm and let off incapacitating gas, so that intruders would not be able to do anything inside the room, and if James hadn't given Blades a hand fixing it, he would never have known about it, and would be writhing on the floor at this point.

As James stepped through to the main control room at Help Earth HQ, he contemplated how difficult it had been getting in. Everyone was known by nicknames, and you had to pass a rigorous entrance test that was one of the hardest things James had ever gone through. And still, he was treated with suspicion, and waved out the room, when Blades and Onion wanted to speak business. This was no problem, as minute listening bugs had been dropped in strategic places all around HQ. These bugs were state of the art, and could store up to six hours of sound. They had enough battery life to last for four weeks, but generally ran on solar power. One of the good things about being in the outback was the constant sun, so there was almost no chance of the bugs running out of power.

There was a thump in the passageway outside as James sat down. Anxiously, he leaned back far enough to peek out the door, but couldn't see anything. Listening hard, he heard a distinctive shoe squeal.

"Amy?" he whispered. "Amy, I'm in trouble. It sounds like there's someone here." He paused for a second, expecting a reply. "Amy?"

…

On the other side of the world, Amy Collins was making a big show of frantically tapping away at her keyboard, and gaping at her computer screen. Scrambling frantically, she picked up the radio headphones she'd dropped, as Kerry came over with a hot coffee from the machine in the hall.

"What's up?" Kerry asked curiously.

"I completely forgot, I was supposed to phone my brother and tell him to pick James up from the Help Earth compound."

"Is James all right?" A frown began spreading over Kerry's face, and Amy hurried to rectify it.

"He's fine, you know? Got the bugs planted, and everything, just annoyed that I forgot his pick up."

Kerry grinned. "Well, that's a relief. We have to go up for the reunion in a couple of weeks' time, and it would be a shame to miss Joshua's big day. Especially as he still idolises James."

Amy laughed, rather nervously, Kerry thought. "Are you OK, Amy?"

"Fine. Now, I really need to get on with this mission report, so you wouldn't mind giving us a bit of peace and quiet?"

"No worries." Kerry backed away, and sat at her desk, plugging in a set of earphones as she went.

Kerry was in the middle of writing an email to her middle daughter, Sammi, when a buzz from her pocket alerted her to a text.

_MISSION GONE BELLY UP_

_TELL AMY TO GET OFF HER BUTT, _

_AND FIND OUT WHA_

The message cut off halfway through, and Kerry got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realised her phone had received the text less then five minutes ago, round about the time she'd been chatting to Amy, who'd said that the operation had gone smoothly…

Kerry didn't have time to go through all the implications of the text, and lifted her head to see Amy shutting down her computer.

…

_**A/N I know it's kinda short, but I wanted to see the response! If I get some reviews, I'll definitely UD!**_


	2. Baseball Bats

_**A/N WOW! I was really pleased to see the reviews! This next UD is a bit longer, but not everything is explained, still. It's part of the **_**suspense**_**! And, also I am going to submit it to the future competition thing on the CHERUB website, but my original idea is turning out to be a lot longer than 2500 words! So, I thought I would put it up here, rather than it getting forgotten about on my computer!**_

_**Anyway, enjoy the next instalment!**_

The Future

James was shocked to see six burly men creeping down the corridor towards him, wearing masks and carrying baseball bats.

Swearing quietly, he hastily shoved his equipment down the back of a filing cabinet while trying to contact Amy on his radio, and texting a message to Kerry. He was halfway though his message, when the door got kicked in. He hit send, and smashed his phone into the temple of the first guy, before getting in a couple of knockout blows, and a vicious roundhouse kick, before getting whacked in the stomach with a baseball bat. James crashed back, momentarily winded, but a second later was back on his feet, being driven by instincts honed in the dojo since he was twelve years old.

He baulked slightly when he saw the remaining three guys going in a pincer movement; one coming from each side, and one running straight at him. Bracing himself for pain, he grabbed the bloke in the middle's bat and used the momentum to roll him over his back, realising too late that it was Onion, Help Earth's second-in-command. _Oh, well_, James thought. His cover was blown, anyway.

Moving nimbly, he dodged the bat from the right, but got smashed in the elbow from the left. The explosive pain made James stagger slightly, and that was all the last bat-wielding terrorist needed. He moved in to deliver a crashing blow to the back of James head, as James realised he'd reached the end of the line.

…

"Where are you going?" Kerry asked, standing up and feeling the reassuring bulge of her long range stun gun.

"I..." Amy stumbled as she scrambled for an excuse. It had been a few years since she'd last been undercover, and most of the training she'd received had been forgotten. "I was, um, just finishing up, you know? I called John, and he's, uh, coming to, um, pick James up. He should be getting on the next flight back to England in a matter of hours."

Kerry scrutinised someone she'd always considered a friend, and wondered if her suspicions were utterly wrong. She certainly hoped so. "Why have I just received a text from James saying that he's in trouble, and to tell you, because you're not answering the radio?"

James hadn't actually said she wasn't answering the radio, but it was obvious. Kerry realised she hadn't seen Amy don the headset for a good ten minutes.

Amy realised she'd been rumbled. She could have cracked herself around the head for being so stupid. Kerry knew James was undercover, and Amy was his handler. She should have stayed with the headset on, and made a big show of saying goodbye to James, before hugging Kerry, and –

"Sit down!" Kerry ripped the long range stunner from her waist, and aimed it at Amy. A dozen ways of taking Kerry down popped into Amy's head, but it was years since she'd done proper combat training, and she had a layer of fat around her midriff from her last pregnancy. In short, she was a far cry from the exotic black shirt James had met when he first joined CHERUB.

By contrast, Kerry regularly went to the gym, helped out at CHERUB campus, if she was needed, and occasionally went on short undercover missions for MI5 with her husband James. All of this had kept her in good shape, and she could still take down most grown men with several well-aimed kicks and a knock to the head.

"Now," Kerry growled, as Amy sat down. "I'm sure you remember my children?" Amy nodded apprehensively. "My little Gwen missed her daddy a lot when he had to miss her birthday party. I was pretty upset too, when James had to miss our anniversary. I and my three children have not seen James for seven months. So if he winds up dead, I don't care where you are, I _will _stick a bullet through your head."

Amy had no doubt Kerry would do this. She'd once beaten up a man three times her size with a baseball bat when she was fifteen. If she was upset because James had died, Kerry would take out her anger on the person she saw as being responsible. Amy.

"We can get the whys and wherefores later. For now, is James in danger?"

Amy hesitated slightly, before nodding.

Kerry pointed to the cordless phone standing on her desk. "Go on. Ring security. Get them to send one of the rapid response teams out. James is in danger, and needs help."

Amy grabbed the phone, and dialled security. "Bob, we have a situation. James has been rumbled. I need a rapid response out there pronto."

…


	3. Ermegency

_**A/N I just realised that I haven't done a disclaimer, yet, so here goes; I am not of the male species, and I'm quite a bit younger, so I can't possibly be Robert Muchamore, and therefore(much as I would like to) I don't own CHERUB.**_

_**Back to the story!**_

…

The Future

Amy was sitting slumped in a chair in one of MI5's numerous interrogation rooms. She started as the door banged, and newly instated CHERUB Chairman Joshua Asker steamed through. He sighed, as he saw one of the best mission controllers on campus waiting to be questioned.

"Amy." Joshua sat down, and spread some files on the table between them. "You've been around terrorists before. What happened? Why did you tell James it was safe, when it quite clearly wasn't?"

"Is James alive?" Amy asked quietly.

"Yes. But, he has fractured ribs, a broken arm, and was extremely lucky that Kerry worked out what you were doing." Joshua paused for breath. "You didn't answer my first question."

Amy looked over at Joshua, and realised she might get off easy if she acted sorry. "They told me that they were just going to knock James unconscious! I don't understand how it all went so badly wrong!"

"Pull the other one, it's got bells on." Joshua said dismissively. One thing he hadn't inherited was his dad's awful temper.

"I'm serious! I had no idea something like this was going to happen!"

"You knew exactly what was going to happen, so don't even try going there!" Amy shrank back in her seat. Maybe Joshua had inherited his dad's temper, after all. "You were in charge of two CHERUB agents down there! You were bloody lucky they were pulled out last week; otherwise I'd have your butt rotting in a prison cell right now! I cannot believe the way you've acted, Amy. I thought you were mates with James, and then you go and get him almost killed!"

"Fine!" Amy stood up, so her nose was facing Joshua's chest. "If you really want to know! I agree with Help Earth!"

Joshua looked shocked. "You're a Help Earth terrorist?"

"Did I say that?" Amy looked exasperated. "I agree with their policies is all. We are ruining our planet, so when the mission was authorised to give James a hand, I told them."

"Told them what?"

"I told them I was an MI5 agent. Intelligence officers were coming down to infiltrate Help Earth, but I never breathed a word about the children!"

Joshua crashed back into his chair, only just realising that in the heat of the argument he'd stood up.

"Amy-" Joshua sighed. "Amy. You almost got an MI5 officer killed. You're a mission controller. I am going to be facing some difficult questions tomorrow from

the Prime Minister and the Intelligence Minister, and they are not happy. You've been a mission controller for a number of years, now. But, in the face of this disaster, I have no option but to ask you to resign from your post. As CHERUB doesn't officially exist, I can't really take this to court. So, you'll get the same package any retiring staff would get. We'll set you up with a new life elsewhere."

Amy was quiet for a second, thinking through the consequences, before nodding. "OK. I'll take what I can get, but what about my children?"

"You didn't marry a cherub, so your kids aren't authorised to come on campus, you know that. You'll have to sort them out yourself."

Amy nodded sadly. CHERUB had been a huge part of her life, and now she'd wrecked it. CHERUB would give her the retirement package, but they weren't likely to give her a generous amount of money after this.

Joshua spoke. "You know you're still welcome to campus reunions, and other special events on campus, Amy. I hope you learn from this experience."

Amy waited until Joshua was out of the room, before putting her head in her hands, and began sobbing quietly.

…

"Uuunngh." James groaned as he came round. His first impression was white. The second was clean, and by the time he got to that point, he realised he was in a hospital.

"Daddy!" a squealing nine-year-old voice cried. "Mum, he's awake!"

James opened one eye to see his youngest daughter Gwen grinning at him mischievously from about three centimetres away.

"Gwen, don't do that. He's just woken up." Kerry scolded her gently. She smiled at her husband. "How do you feel?"

"Like Bruce Norris is battering my head with a tree trunk. One made of metal."

Sammi laughed. "You haven't said thank you, yet."

"Who am I meant to say thank you to? What happened, anyway? One second everything was quiet, and I was getting the job done, the next, Amy's not answering her radio, and I've got six thugs trying to kill me!"

"Amy was rogue." His eldest daughter Joanna said quietly. "She was our mission controller, but she was passing information to Help Earth."

"She _what_?" James was aghast.

Sammi nodded, and took up the story. "She sent information to them after we were pulled out of the mission. Apparently she feels bad about putting us kids in danger, but she doesn't mind putting adults into danger."

"That lying two-faced –"

"James!" Kerry interrupted. "We know. But we're glad you're alive."

James shook his head angrily, and sighed. "If they don't award you a black and navy shirt, I will complain. You were fantastic on that mission. Finding out where the Help Earth HQ was, was brilliant, Sammi."

"I know, right?" she said gleefully.

…

_**A/N I know not much happened in this chapter, but the good bit starts in the next chapter!**_


	4. Driving

_**A/N I thought I should let you all know, that the first three chapters is what I've put in for the competition, with a REALLY short epilogue at the end; I didn't include the epilogue in this version, cos the stuff is basically going to happen in the story.**_

The Future

James was discharged from the hospital a week after he found out about Amy. Kerry was waiting for him in reception. She kissed his cheek, and gave him a gentle hug, before grabbing his bag from the nurse that escorted him out.

"You have a good day, James." The nurse said. "Goodbye, Mrs. Choke."

"Bye, Kayla. I'll maybe see you around." James grinned at the young nurse, before Kerry slapped his good arm.

"What was that for?" He grumbled, once Kayla had turned away.

"Making eyes at her." Kerry snapped.

"I was not!"

"You were. Just make sure it doesn't happen again." Kerry glared at him, until he nodded submissively.

…

The car jolted up the gravel driveway, making James howl, as pain shot up his arm and through his chest.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Kerry hastily apologised, as he she brought the car to a stop.

"We need to fix that bump." James spoke through gritted teeth, willing the pain away, as Gwen and Sammi ran out of the house, with Jo following at a more moderate pace. "Hey, girls. Have you missed me?"

"Too much!" Gwen grinned. "Joshua gave us special permission to come off campus to see you!"

"That's nice. Are you all set to go up for the reunion tomorrow?" Kerry interrupted.

"Well…"Gwen laughed nervously and turned to look at her older sisters.

"I packed my stuff into my bag, but Sammi and Gwen went riot in the mini-bar. They threw your entire collection of blackjack cards in the bin, and smashed eight bottles of bourbon." Jo reported dutifully.

"Snitch!" Gwen glared at her sister, as Sammi watched the hurricane brewing in her parents.

"You –"

"Jokes!" Sammi cracked up as she saw the look of utter bewilderment spread across Kerry and James' faces, and then the realisation that they'd been tricked made them laugh.

"No, we're all packed and ready to leave." Jo grinned.

"Give us a hand with his bags." Kerry urged, switching back into mother mode.

…

The family sat down to a quiet dinner that night, with James and Kerry's old friend Kyle Blueman stopping for pudding and an overnight stay, as the Choke's were giving him a lift to campus the following day.

"So," Kyle said. "What are you doing now, after the Amy fiasco?"

"No idea." James sighed. "I can't go back to Australia to finish the Help Earth mission, but also, CHERUB has offered me a job in the tech department, and Kerry a full-time job as a handler and martial arts instructor. But I still have my job at MI5. So, I really don't know what we're going to do."

"I think you should come and work on campus. That way, we'd get to see you much more often, rather than just when you have a holiday, or are coming to help out around campus." Gwen said.

"There's another factor. But we're keeping our options open until after the reunion." Kerry put in.

"I think it would be nice for you to work at CHERUB. Quite a few of us live in London, and you guys live a way out here in the middle of absolutely nowhere. You'd be able to come see us all in London."

"So, why'd you come all the way out here if it's in the middle of absolutely nowhere?" Sammi grinned.

"Ah! You know that's only because there's a train stop in that village; and I'd much rather spend the rest of the ride to campus in your nice big, comfy car."

They all laughed, finished dinner, and then headed for bed. They had an early start tomorrow.

…

James got a sudden surge of nostalgia, as they rounded a bend in the lane and the imposing gates of CHERUB campus came into view. Kyle was regaling Gwen and Sammi with tales from his time as a CHERUB agent, and the gasps and squeals echoed around the enclosed space. Joanna's phone bleeped at regular intervals, indicating a text from her boyfriend at CHERUB, Daniel. James' arm was throbbing, and he had a splitting headache and a dull ache in his chest and arm that didn't really go away. He'd barely slept the previous night, and was only restraining himself from telling the others to shut it, because he hadn't heard their voices in so long.

"And then what happened?" Gwen asked.

"Then, this tsunami came, and knocked all the trainees flying. Their equipment all got washed away, and in the end, Large and Smoke were forced to cancel the rest of the 100- day exercise, and the kids all got their grey shirts a couple of days early!" Kyle finished.

Gwen leaned back in her seat. "Man, I hope that happens to me. I've heard so many rumours about it. Apparently, they dunk your head in the toilet, and flush 'til you can't take it, and if you don't make the required number of flushes, you fail!"

"Kerry looked into the rear view mirror. "Sweetheart, I'm pretty sure that's a myth. The instructors do want you to pass, you know."

"And basic training's a lot tougher than that." James butted in.

"It is?" Gwen's eyes were so wide, James immediately wished he hadn't spoken. Jo looked up from her phone, and gave her sister a reassuring pat on the shoulder;

"You'll be fine. You've trained for it your whole life. New recruits go into basic after being on campus for like, barely a month. You have a huge advantage."

"Yeah…" Gwen, so confident and sure of herself, suddenly looked rather scared.

But before anyone could try and quash her fears, they arrived at the main gate.

"Hi, there." The American security guard said. "You're kinda far out, here."

"We're here for the reunion on campus." Kerry said cautiously.

The American grinned. "It's nice to see you, again, Kerry. Have a nice time."

"I will do." Kerry smiled at the guard as they drove past.

James punched her arm.

"What was that for?" Kerry said, a touch of irritation creeping into her voice.

"Making eyes at him." James said, cheekily, before kissing her cheek.

Kerry tutted, but she was smiling as they parked the car in guest parking.

…

_**A/N I know it was a lot of fluff, but I couldn't figure out how to make the next bit make sense, without some of the information in the chapter, but most of it is just fluff that I felt like putting in. Review!**_


	5. Masked

**_A/N Sorry it took me so long to post this. I was at my grandparents for Easter, and then I had to do this thing on sonnets... Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! And please please review! I love getting them!_**

The Future

"James!" Bruce shouted. James turned around and grinned as his friend came running up the hill towards him.

"Bruce! Where've you been, mate?" James waved his one good arm. "I haven't seen you for ages! How's the reporting going?"

"Good, good. But you look like you were in a massive punch up. Why didn't you invite me?"

James snorted. "Massive punch-up. With me coming off worst." He shook his head. "I was undercover. Sammi and Jo were with me for some of the time, but they did their bit, and got sent back to campus. Amy carried on working the case with me; she volunteered. What none of us realised was, she was working for the other side."

"No way!" Bruce gasped.

"Yes, way. She almost got me killed."

"God." Bruce said incredulously. "Amy Collins, right?"

"Yeah."

"But she was your mentor!"

"That's the worst bit. So, now I won't be able to show my face down in Oz for a while, now."

Bruce laughed. "There goes Christmas at Lauren's."

"Yeah. But her and Rat'll be here, so we're going to talk to them about it." James said glumly.

Kerry ambled up. "Hey, Bruce. How are you?"

"Not bad. I heard about Amy."

"Ugh. Don't even get me _started_ on her. I was so scared."

Bruce nodded sympathetically. "I can imagine. Oh, this is my son, Lee Bruce." The little boy tugged on Bruce's leg, full of importance.

"You have to stop talking, now. The Chairman wants to speak."

"OK." Bruce assured him. "We'll be quiet."

"I take it his name's no coincidence?" James muttered.

"He may be little, but he could whup your butts blindfolded."

…

The party was in full swing by a quarter past eleven. James was talking to Lauren about Christmas. He'd lost track of Kerry, who he'd last seen getting dragged off by a bunch of excitable red shirts, and he'd seen Sammi going off with some of her friends.

"Well, I guess we could come to yours…" Lauren said, dubiously.

"No, thanks." Rat said. "Last time I came, Lauren almost bit a chunk out of my arse after you put meat in her pasta."

"That was an accident!" James giggled.

"Your face is an accident." Lauren shot back.

"You're just jealous."

"Oh, yeah, I'm so-"

A siren squealed from all four corners of the hall. Everyone looked up, shocked at the sound. They'd all heard it – but only in drills. The intruder alarm never went off. It was only installed as a precaution. Yet, everyone knew what to do in these situations.

There was a huge crush, as everyone made a beeline for the door, and the path to the main building. A tug on James' arm made him look down.

"Jo." James said in greeting, and then looked around, a surge of panic twisting his stomach. "Jo, have you seen your mother? Or your sisters?"

Jo's face fell. "I was hoping you had." She whispered.

"What's up?" Lauren leaned over to ask.

"Mum, Gwen and Sammi are missing."

…

"Aaaand, this one is at Sarah's birthday party last year. We set off the sprinklers, when the candles got a bit out of hand. The curtains caught fire!" Gwen spread her hands wide, indicating a huge flame. "But then, Jenny, one of the carer's came and out it out with a fire extinguisher."

"No-one was hurt, right?" Kerry asked anxiously.

"Of course –"

"Boo!"

"AARRGH!" Gwen jumped backwards, knocked over a chair, and then fell backwards, ending up on her backside, with such a shocked expression, Kerry and Sammi had to laugh.

"You should have seen your face!" Sammi chortled.

"Don't _do_ that!" Gwen stormed, as she scrambled back to her feet. "It's not _funny_!"

"It's very funny, and you know it." Sammi snorted.

"Mum!" Gwen turned to her mother.

Kerry was trying to remain neutral without much success. "Well… I would be lying if I said it wasn't funny. BUT – it was not nice to do that, Sammi. Don't let me hear of you doing it again."

Sammi laughed it off easily. "So, anyways, I came to tell you that dad was looking for you." Sammi reported. "He wanted to ask if it was OK if you and him spent Christmas on campus. We could all stay here, and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Rat said they would be fine with Christmas on campus."

"Er –" Kerry thought for a second, mentally going down her diary for December. "Yes, that would be fine. D'you wanna go and tell your dad?"

"Sure." Sammi turned on her heel, and marched towards the door. She turned the handle and threw the door open, intending to make a dramatic exit.

Instead, she found herself face to face with a masked man.

Almost without thinking, she threw herself into attack mode, making use of the few valuable seconds of surprise she had.

Several men pushed their way through the doorway, forcing Sammi and her opponent back into the room. Kerry and Gwen were engaged with their own foes, and everything was complete and utter chaos – until an unmistakeable click echoed around the room. Kerry and Sammi turned their heads slightly to see what had caused it, and froze.

"Stand against the wall." One of the masked men said quietly in an unmistakeable Australian accent. "Now. Or I paint the walls with her brains."

Kerry and Sammi took one look at the gun being held against Gwen's head, and complied.

**_A/N Oooh, a cliffie. It might take me a while to get the next chapter posted, but I will UD as soon as I can._**


	6. Decisions

The Future

"Where are they?" Jo asked, panic leaking into her voice.

"I don't know. I can't see them." James answered back, trying to keep the panic from showing in his voice. "Rat?"

"Nothing." Having climbed up the side of the main building on CHERUB campus, Rat had the best view of everyone. "Can't see them anywhere."

"I'm going to ring Kerry again. She has to pick up sometime…"

…

"I need to pee." Kerry announced to their captors.

The one with the gun turned to look at her. "Either pee your pants, or hold it in." he said brusquely.

"But I'm busting!" She whined.

The leader turned the gun on her. "Shut up."

"I'm not joking." Kerry hesitated a fraction of a second, before saying her next words. "Women's trouble."

"Eh –" he gestured over at one of his comrades. "Go with her."

The new one pulled out a gun, and kept it trained on Kerry as she got up and walked out the door. She didn't miss the look of panic that spread onto Gwen and Sammi's faces as she walked out the door.

"Can I have some privacy, please?" Kerry asked sweetly, as they came to a stop outside the staff toilets in the junior block.

Once given a swift nod, she hurried into the toilet, locking the door quietly, before taking out her phone. It had been buzzing intermittently for the past twenty minutes.

"James," She breathed, gently putting the toilet seat down so she'd have a seat.

"Where are you?" James' worried voice came back in her ear.

"The junior block." She said quietly. "Listen, I don't have much time. There are seven men, and at least two guns that I know of."

"Jesus." James exclaimed.

"Sssshh," Kerry gave the door an anxious glance. "They must have more people at the main gate – otherwise they would have never gotten in."

"Who are they?"

"No idea." Kerry shook her head. "They have Australian accents, though."

Kerry jumped in fright as the door shook with the weight of the blows being inflicted on it from the other side. "Hurry up in there!" Her guard called.

"Just coming!" Kerry called back. "Listen," she breathed in to the phone, even quieter than before. "I have to go. I love you. Don't get yourself into trouble. Get the proper manpower before you come here."

"Kerry –" James sounded like that was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"Please."

"I love you, Kerry. And Sammi and Gwen. I will come and rescue you."

"James –" But James had already ended the call.

Kerry didn't want to think about what James might do now. He was impulsive, and tended to do first and think later. She just hoped he wouldn't get himself into trouble.

…

"What's going on?" Jo demanded the second James took the phone away from his ear.

"They're in the junior block," James said urgently to Rat and Lauren, ignoring her. "There's seven men guarding them, and guns. We have to go and save them!"

"Shouldn't we get more people?" Lauren said warily.

"You know what that will be like! It'll take them ages to find adults that are fit enough to take down guys with guns! And by that time, they will have already gotten wind of it, and shot them!"

"OK," Rat said loudly. "Presumably they will be in the gate control room on campus, and possibly the main control room… Why don't we check them and see if they're there?" Then, seeing James about to protest, he went on, "If they're there, they will hear everything that's going on between the staff; the instant radios work via the main control room. If the situation is like that, we will round up as many people as we can, and storm the building. How does that sound?"

James thought over the plan, nodding slowly as he did so. "It could work." He admitted. "Just the three of us, right?"

"Well, if we want to make it faster, we'll need another person to even the numbers out. I don't think we should be going up against guns without some sort of backup." Lauren interjected.

"Ahem."

The three adults looked around to see Joanna standing with raised eyebrows.

"No way." James said. "No effing way."

"Why not?" Jo pressed. "I'm a black shirt. I know what I'm doing. I go into situations like this all the time."

"Yes, but… there's guns! You could be shot!"

"And I would be fine if you and Mum and Gwen and Sammi got shot?" She shot back. "I'm not a child, Dad."

James stared at his eldest daughter. In that moment, Joanna Choke was most definitely _not_ a child. He hadn't realised when she'd surpassed the point where she was no longer his little girl.

"OK." He said, quietly. Then, clearing his throat, slightly louder, "OK. You can come with us. But you have to do exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, run. If I tell you to leave me; you do exactly that. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Looking into her dad's eyes, Jo saw that her dad had finally accepted it. She was growing up, and couldn't be treated as a child, anymore. "I understand, Dad. I understand completely."

"Let's go then."

...

**_A/N So, I got this up much faster than I anticipated. Please review, or PM me, because I love getting messages. However short they may be. And if you haven't submitted a story for fanfiction, or anything else like it, you can't imagine how gratifying it is when you get reviews, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	7. Spy

_**Disclaimer: I do not own CHERUB. BUT, I do own Joanna, Gwen, Sammi, masked Australian terrorists, the plot of this story, and anything else you don't recognise from the books!**_

…

The Future

Joanna and James were taking a roundabout route to the main control room, going through the thick wood that made up part of the landscape surrounding CHERUB campus.

James had never thought that the exercise devised by Kazakov when he was a black shirt would ever come in handy. But he led the way, despite not having been in that part of campus for years. Jo kept up with her dad easily, surprising James further.

"I didn't know you were so fit." He commented as they ran.

"I'm only good at running. I'm hopeless in the gym, and in the dojo." Jo admitted sheepishly.

"You can't be bad in the dojo. CHERUB wouldn't have you, then."

"Slow reflexes. Takada even made up a special speed course, but it didn't help, much."

"Huh." James looked at his daughter. "Same with me. I was always really slow against agents here, but in the real world, it seemed like I was amazing."

"Yeah." Jo and James smiled at each other for a second.

"OK," James said, turning back to business. "Don't take unnecessary risks, OK?"

"I know." Jo rolled her eyes at him.

They both slowed as they approached the building that housed the main control room. James crouched down, so he wouldn't be visible through the windows.

"Dad!" Jo hissed.

"What?" Confusion laced James' whisper.

"They modified the main control room. It has floor-to-ceiling windows! You're just gonna be conspicuous, crouching down like that!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" James glared at his daughter.

"Seriously, Dad, it's like you never lived here."

James muttered something unintelligible.

A few minutes later, they had skirted back around the building, and were at the door. James took a look at the complicated lock system, and brought out his old lock gun from his backpack. He crouched down, inserted the pick, and was just about to start wiggling it around to open the door, when Jo stopped him.

"What are you doing?" She hissed. "Lock guns don't work on these things! Why do you think the nerds at MI5 invented lock breakers?"

"Calm down! I'll have you know, lock guns do work – when you've had them slightly modified. And they're way more reliable."

"Slightly modified?" repeated Jo.

"I've had a chip put into it that makes it cancel out the thingy that alerts the system to hackers. It's better than lock breakers, but way more expensive."

"Then why've you got it?"

"Deep undercover mission." James replied smugly. "Lock breakers need to be fixed so often, we couldn't run that risk."

"Australia." Jo nodded in understanding.

"That's right."

James finally got the door open, and gave his daughter a look as if to say _I told you so_.

Carefully, the two of them crept along the corridor, pausing outside every door, listening for signs of life from within. They were about to turn back and meet up with Rat and Lauren, when they heard an angry voice inside one of the rooms they'd already passed. They pressed their ears to the door, warily. All it took was one person deciding they needed to pee, or wanted a change of scenery, and they'd be busted and in the same position as the rest of their family.

Muffled voices came through to them.

"… don't know how…"

"…exactly as….said. Amazing!"

The voices had Australian accents, and were foreign to both of them.

They looked at each other, knowing they needed to make a decision. Stay and try to take out the intruders in the room and possibly alert the others that were watching Gwen, Sammi and Kerry; or leaving them, using the information to construct a plan that might work.

James jerked a thumb behind him, towards the entrance, and Jo nodded. They moved faster, aware that they had a deadline, now. James ducked through the door, just as the door came open behind them.

Jo let the main door swing shut, spun around, and stepped through the open door of the cupboard.

Boots thumped against the hard linoleum floor, just inches away from her. Holding her breath, Jo listened hard, praying to whoever was listening that her dad wouldn't turn around and come back to see where she'd gotten to.

…

Meanwhile outside, James had discovered that Joanna was not behind him, as he'd originally thought. He turned around and stared at the door he'd walked through three seconds earlier.

Something had gone wrong, he could tell that much. His training told him he had to keep moving, but his heart was telling him to stay and see if Jo was OK.

Moving slowly, he stopped in front of the door, and put his hand on the handle. Just as he was about to turn it, the door flung open, and he reacted aggressively. He launched a brutal roundhouse kick, while Joanna smacked his face so hard, his head snapped back.

"Jeez, Dad," Jo moaned, clutching her side. "What the_ hell_ was that for?"

"Sorry," He gasped, his hands covering his face. "I thought you were one of the terrorists."

"Dad?" Jo asked. "Dad, are you OK?"

"Never better." He gasped, before taking his hands away from his face.

"Oh!" Jo gasped. "Dad, I'm so sorry! Are you OK?"

Gingerly, James felt his nose with his fingers. "I'll live. I don't think you've broken it. Remind me never to annoy you again."

…

The blood had stopped flowing by the time they met up with Rat and Lauren.

"What happened to you?" Lauren asked when she caught sight of his bloody face and shirt.

"I punched him." Jo said shortly.

Lauren looked from James to Jo and back again, before bursting into laughter.

"Back to business," James insisted. The not-so-subtle reminder of what they were up to sobered Lauren up fast. "They have people in the main control room."

"It's the same on the gate. We got a good look at them, and they appear to be using old-fashioned Glocks."

"Are you sure?" James asked, urgently.

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason. We should devise a strategy for getting the girls out quickly." He said, changing the subject oh-so-subtly.

Lauren looked at him again, sure that he knew something that they did not.

…

_**A/N Please, please, please review. In my story stats, I can see that there're loads of people looking at this story, but it's kinda annoying to get only two or three reviews for a chapter. I really want to know what you all think!**_


	8. Fight

**_A/N I am so sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I slightly got banned from the computer for forgetting about a science test and refraining to tell my mum... But I'm back on it, now! _****_I would just like to say thank you to everybody who has reviewed so far! They are all very encouraging. I would like to do a special shout-out to FreakyBookReader, who's enthusiasm and frequent reviews for this story are fantastic. Thank you so much._**

**_Back to the story!_**

**_..._**

The Future

"So," Rat murmured to Lauren as they ran to the campus storeroom, Jo and James just a few metres ahead. "Why do you keep looking at James?"

"You noticed, huh?" Lauren admitted sheepishly. She'd thought she was being subtle.

"Of course. Well, I only noticed you watching him, because I've been trying to figure out what he wasn't saying earlier."

"Same. Have you come up with anything?"

"Nope." He popped the_ p_.

Lauren sighed.

"What are you two playing at back there?" James hissed.

"We're coming! Don't get your knickers in a twist." Lauren let a bit of acid leak into her voice. _He_ was the one not telling them everything.

James was startled. Lauren had been dead serious and totally professional earlier; now she was behaving like a spoilt brat.

Lauren saw the shock, and then hurt come into her brother's eyes, and hurried to rectify it. "Sorry. I'm just worried about Kerry and the girls. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

"Uh-huh." James turned back, and started running again.

…

They crept inside the storeroom, listening carefully for signs of life. Everything was still. Jo led the way to the clothing rail at the back, more familiar with her surroundings than the adults.

"Fancy." James remarked in a hushed voice, as he pulled on a carbon-fibre reinforced hoodie. "I remember when we first got issued these – it was for a gang war."

"Where's the Kevlar?" Rat whispered.

Jo laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. That stuff is old-school. We'll be using these." She held out thin sheets of a material Lauren and Rat had never seen. "So much lighter and compact than Kevlar."

"Doesn't get you sweating like a pig, either." James added. He'd used the same stuff on the Help Earth mission, and on other operations in the past.

"And, I'm also thinking… scope pistols? Long-range, of course." Joanna said to herself. "If they're using old Glocks, they'll have much more power, but they can't shoot accurately from so far away…"

"No, that's not right, Jo." James disagreed. "You've never used a Glock. They go a lot farther than it says on the packet. And probably further than that, if they've modified it."

"How do you know they'll have modified it?" Lauren asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It was just a thought." James replied smoothly. Too smoothly.

There was a silent standoff between the siblings, with Rat and Jo looking on anxiously.

It was Lauren who finally broke the silence. "You're keeping something from us." It was not a question.

James hesitated, before realising that subterfuge was useless. "Yes."

"Care to share?" Lauren asked.

"Don't panic, OK?" He waited until they all nodded. "But I have a good idea who these guys are."

"Keep going." There was steel, now, in Lauren's voice.

"You said they're using Glocks," he began. "Old ones. Who uses old Glocks?" he asked, looking straight at Joanna.

He saw the realisation hit her.

"Help Earth." She whispered.

…

Gwen was scared stiff. She was due to start basic training in a few months, but this was so much scarier than she'd imagined. Her nails dug into her mother's hand, almost drawing blood, until Kerry loosened her hand, and rubbed soothing circles into Gwen's.

"When are you going to let us go?" Sammi demanded for the umpteenth time.

"Shut up." Sammi suddenly had a gun blocking her view, and a gloved hand reaching for her face.

"Don't touch her!" Kerry growled.

"What are you gonna do about it?" the man said, putting his hand under Sammi's chin. "Such a pretty girl," he purred. "Seems like such a waste…"

A chorus of raucous laughter arose behind him.

"Leave her alone." Kerry stepped forward, putting herself in between them.

She saw his eyes narrow. "What are you gonna do about it?" he asked as if he already knew the answer.

"This." And with that opening, Kerry nutted him. She spun around as the guy went down, and crouched into a fighting stance, with Sammi and Gwen in a similar position on either side of her.

Fighting back-to-back, the three girls took on the dozen men around them. The gun was forgotten about in the corner where the first terrorist went down. Unlike the movies, time didn't slow down. It was more like the adrenaline had made their brains speed up, so Kerry saw with perfect clarity when one of the blokes began crawling towards the gun.

Her heart leapt into her mouth, and she thrust her elbow into the jaw of her current opponent and flew after the man on the ground. She ripped the gun from his hand, and in a moment of pure terror stamped hard on his outstretched arm. There was a sickening crack as the bone splintered, but Kerry didn't look back. She ripped the gun into its various parts, and smashed the vital, smaller components into little pieces.

Gwen leaped over an unconscious man on the ground, and drove her hand into the solar plexus of the last terrorist.

The door banged open.

…

_**A/N PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	9. Relief

The Future

James burst in the door, tripped over an unconscious person on the ground, and fell sprawled across the floor. Rat ran in right behind James, and subsequently tripped over him. Jo and Lauren both paused to assess the scene in front of them.

Suddenly, Kerry began laughing. The fear that had been eating them up for the past hour or two, suddenly released itself, and they were all laughing breathlessly in relief.

"Took you a while." Kerry chortled, relief plain on her face.

"You're OK." James said, dazed.

"We are now." Sammi said, shakily.

They all looked closer at her. She was trembling, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh, sweetheart," Kerry put her arms around her gently. "It's OK. You're OK. We're all here."

"We should probably tie these bodies up." Lauren said, seriously, delving into the bag they'd brought with them, searching around for the thick rope they'd put in it.

Carefully, with his good arm, James hugged Gwen, Sammi, and then finally Kerry. "I'm really glad you didn't die, Kerry." He told her sincerely. "I don't know what I would have done without your wonderful ironing skills."

Kerry glared at him in disbelief. How could he say something like that, when she could have just _died_?

James rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Kerry, I was joking! You've no idea what I've been through in the past couple of hours. I thought we might be too late." He choked off a little at the end.

And before Kerry could take a breath to reply, he kissed her, more passionately than was polite for their company.

"_Ahem_." Gwen's irritated cough caused the couple to break apart – slightly. "Would you mind putting off the snogfest for when we're not around?"

Kerry blushed a little, as she stepped back out of James' arms.

…

Two hours later, each of the two dozen intruders were suitably trussed up, awaiting questioning, while James, Jo, Lauren, Rat, Kerry, Sammi and Gwen were facing some challenging questions.

"So," Joshua paused trying to order his thoughts. "You didn't tell any of the staff, because you thought they might've hacked into our main systems, correct?"

There was a pause. "Well, yeah." James spoke up. "I didn't want them hurting my family."

"You do realise we would've just bypassed the Control room? They wouldn't have had a clue, and it would be unnecessary for Kerry to start a fight."

"We did arrive just when they finished their fight, to be fair. We weren't that far behind." Rat pointed out. "And we didn't know if there was more than just the one gun."

"Under the circumstances, you did do extremely well," Joshua conceded. "We received a ransom note around the time you burst in, and found the fight finished without you."

"How much were they wanting?" Gwen asked.

"Ten million pounds in return for your safety and keeping CHERUB's existence a secret. However, we are still faced with the fact that terrorists that we routinely infiltrate in missions managed to get onto campus, and past all the mountainous security we have here."

James leaned forward. "Have you considered the possibility that … Amy was behind this?"

"No…" Lauren whispered. "Amy wouldn't do that. CHERUB is as much her home is it is our home. She wouldn't… _endanger_ everyone that way, would she?"

"We have to consider every aspect to keep CHERUB a secret."

"What happened to that badass team that go around making sure nobody spills the beans?" Sammi threw in.

Joshua smiled tiredly. "That's just a myth. And if I ever hear that circulating campus, I will know exactly who spread it, OK?"

"Gotcha, boss."

"Wait, wait, wait." James exclaimed. "That was a myth? I thought that was true!"

"The whole ex-cherubs going around in the dead of night thing is a myth, but we do have it in our power to put people in prison for breaching their oath."

"What oath?" Rat asked blankly.

"Don't be thick all you life," Lauren said. "Everyone who comes onto campus, or is told about CHERUB has to take an oath for national security reasons."

"Have I told you that I have an IQ of –"

"And has any other IQ test ever replicated those results?" Lauren carried on in the same breath. "No, they have not." Then, seeing the slightly hurt look on Rat's face, she quickly amended her statement. "That doesn't mean you're not amazingly smart."

"Gee, thanks." But he smiled at her, so Lauren knew she was forgiven.

"Back to the subject in hand," Joshua pressed. "Are you sure you never heard any names being said?"

"Nothing." Kerry said apologetically.

"Yeah, but I think…" Sammi trailed off, as she searched to verify her memory.

"Yes? Do you remember something?" Joshua asked.

"One of them… I think one of them was a woman."

"They all sounded male." Gwen stated.

"It's not so much what they said… but more the way they acted, you know? They all looked identical, but this one… I would swear that it was a lady."

"Interesting." Joshua said, looking down at his handheld computer. "We unmasked them all. They were all male. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I could be. I'm just telling you my impressions. Doesn't make them right."

James twisted to look out the window to his left.

"What's up?" Kerry asked. James was staring out the window, frowning, and it didn't seem to be the absentminded way people stare out of windows when they're thinking. James was looking _for_ something.

"I don't know…" He stood up and walked closer to the window, peering out now with an intense gaze. "I just thought… I saw… something…"

He popped the catch on the window, and cautiously leaned his head out with everyone looking on anxiously.

"I think you're imagining things, Dad." Jo said, her voice higher than usual. James turned to look at his daughter, examining her, listening to the way her voicewas layered with tension. "Seriously, Dad. No-one's outside. Everyone's in a building. Even the terrorists that broke in."

"You know something." James said slowly. "Something big."

"What?" Jo made a good stab at sounding perplexed. "Of course I don't know anything! I was with you the whole time."

"No… you weren't. You went off with that boyfriend of yours. You were gone for ages."

Jo was clearly uncomfortable, now.

"Joanna," Kerry reached out, and tilted her daughter's face so she could see it clearly. "Please,_ please _don't tell me that you are involved in this?"

"No!" She cast anxious pleading eyes around the circle of her family. "I have nothing to do with you guys getting held hostage! I promise, Mum."

"But did you have something to do with how they got in, in the first place?" Joshua pressed, harshly.

"No!"

"Sssh." James waved a hand in their direction. "There's definitely someone out there."

Moving silently, he made his way to the door of the room.

**_A/N I really want to know what everyone thinks of this story. I'm trying not to make it sound too futuristic - am I doing OK? And I also want to know your theories for what's going to happen next! Mmmm... also what you like, what you hate... just tell me what you think. It'll make my storywriting better._**


	10. Confession

The Future

James stopped with his hand resting on the handle, listening. The room was still as they waited.

Cautiously, James turned the handle; and then in a move so swift it was almost lost, he flung the door open to stare into the barrel of a gun.

There was a snarl from the person holding it, and then James lunged for it, knocking them both to the ground, and causing pain to sear through his arm. But still, he kept struggling, neither of them getting a good enough grip on the handle, tearing, scratching, vaguely aware of others joining in, trying to wrestle the gun into safe hands.

Just as James wrapped a hand securely around the handle of the gun, it went off.

A high pitched scream followed almost immediately afterwards.

…

Sammi had watched the struggle for a long moment, frozen in shock. Then, as her brain started to catch up to the events occurring around her, she moved forwards to help just as the gun was fired.

One moment she was rushing to help and the next she was seeing through a haze tinged with black, pain roiling around inside of her.

She heard a strange shriek of agony, echoing the pain inside of her.

She was on the floor, curled in on herself, trying to keep the pain at bay. Distantly aware of a mass of people surrounding her, she recoiled in horror at the blood seeping out of her. Sammi pressed a numb hand to where the blood flow was thickest, trying to push it back inside her.

A plaintive cry that wasn't hers broke through her haze, right before Sammi lost consciousness.

…

"No!" Kerry's shriek hurt even her eardrums. She watched as Sammi recoiled from the bullet and collapsed, fountains of red pouring from her chest. She saw James wrench the gun into his hands, before smashing the barrel into the intruder's face. The splintering of the face, didn't register with anyone, nor did the shriek of agony as they watched Sammi's eyes wheel and roll back into her head.

"Get an ambulance!" Kerry cried. "For Gods' sake, do something!" Then, turning back to Sammi, she dropped onto her knees, and tried to remember basic first aid. "Ok, Ok," she murmured to herself. She reached with shaking hands to the edge of her shirt, and ripped off a long strip. Pushing Sammi's bloody t-shirt out of her way, she pressed her strip of cloth to the gaping wound in her daughter's body.

There was a cloth on the small table in the room, and suddenly she was aware of Gwen ripping up strips and helping her stem the flow.

Kerry was distantly aware of hands moving hers out the way, and struggled to pull her daughter into the protective circle of her arms. Everything was a blur of blaring sounds and fuzzy pictures. It didn't seem real. Nobody seemed real. She strained against the arms she found restraining her, struggling to be back with Samantha.

"Kerry," she recognised the voice. "Kerry, you have to stop. They're taking her to the hospital. Kerry. Please." The last word was quieter than a whisper. Kerry wilted in James' arms, crumpling her blood-covered hands in between her face and James' chest, as he held her, comforting her through his own agony.

…

The journey to the hospital was a blur of paramedics, sirens, blood, and waiting. Waiting and worrying. But the worst thing was the fear. The fear that Sammi was going to become the fifth cherub to die. The fear that CHERUB would have to get closed down. Endless fear, gnawing away at all of them, sitting in the waiting room, waiting for Sammi to come out of surgery.

The fear was worse for Jo. One thought kept rolling around her head; _I did this. This is my fault. _She had her hands curled into fists, and then safely tucked into her armpits to stop them shaking. Finally, not able to stand the tense silence any longer, she went to sit next to her family.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Her mother turned to her, looking like a complete and utter mess. Her hair was everywhere; mascara smudged an inch outwards from her eye, running down her face with the streaming tears, leaving streaks of black down her cheeks and off her chin, face pale and drawn. "What do you have to be sorry for?" Jo winced as her voice cracked in several places. Her entire family had tear-streaked faces turned towards her.

"I let them in." her voice was so quiet, they weren't sure that they'd heard her correctly. "I didn't – they didn't - Gary s-said that th-they weren't going to do anything but look around. They'd order a ransom, but no-one would get hurt. It was for the a-animals."

There was a beat of silence while they processed what she'd just said.

"I always knew that boyfriend was trouble." James muttered.

"Jo…"Kerry was looking at her with an expression filled with an emotion Jo couldn't quite decipher. It was part aching sadness, part disbelief and part overwhelming disappointment.

Jo's face crumpled as they watched her with varying expressions. James looked angry, but that was his way. She had expected that. What she hadn't expected was the agonising disappointment that was present on everyone's faces. She'd prepared herself for accusations, shouts – but not this feeling that there had been a test that she had just failed miserably.

Closing her eyes, she waited. Waited to see if she would have to live with this racking guilt for the rest of her life. Waited to see if her sister would come out of that room alive.

Deep down in her heart, she knew the answer.


	11. Waiting

_**A/N I know it took a long time for me to post this. I even thought about not posting it, and instead posting an author's note on reviews. I got a not-particularly-nice anonymous one. The thing is, I don't mind good criticism. I don't mind suggestions on what I can improve. But what I DO mind is getting told that my story is ' so bad and why do you bother writing it'? It made me a bit upset, and if I get just plain MEAN reviews, I'm going to disable the anonymous reviews thing. I posted this chapter for everyone that enjoys reading it, and has given me lovely reviews. But I'm wondering if I should stop writing this, if it's 'so bad'.**_

_**I want to thank everyone that has written nice reviews. They make me happy and smiley. This chapter is for you guys.**_

The Future

James was sick of waiting. His arm hurt like hell, he was worried sick, and to top it all off, his daughter had admitted to being the one that let the damn terrorists in, in the first place! Jo… that one was going to be difficult to get her out of. He sighed. Worst-case scenario, she'd get kicked out of CHERUB. Best case, she'd be banned from missions for a hell of a long time, and get a crappy, _long _punishment to go with it.

Maybe he and Kerry should take the jobs at CHERUB that they'd been offered. Up to now they'd procrastinated, saying they needed time to talk it over with their children, Lauren, their friends... Chancing a glance at Kerry, he found her watching him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.

James sighed. "CHERUB. And wondering whether taking the jobs might help keep our wayward children in line."

"Jo might not get let back into CHERUB." Kerry whispered, her mind jumping to exactly where James' was.

"I know. I was wondering if we could play the 'young and headstrong' card."

"I don't think I've heard you use such a long word in forever, James. 'Headstrong…'" Kerry's joke fell flat. Nobody was in any kind of laughing mood. "I don't know if it would work, though."

"I thought of that, as well. I was kinda thinking Joshua might cut us a bit of slack. Might cut _her_ a bit of slack. Because we're old friends, maybe? And she has performed amazingly well on her other missions. Just, for some reason…"

Kerry finished James' sentence. "For some reason, she became sympathetic to a bunch of terrorists that would rather blow up all of humankind than see the planet get wrecked. And, y'know, their ideals are good. We should be kinder towards our planet. You, James, should learn to turn the tap off when you brush your teeth. But-"

"The way they go about it is not right."

"Exactly." Kerry agreed.

The minutes ticked by in silence with just Rat and Lauren's murmurs breaking the stillness.

"I hope we can get her out of it." James said quietly.

…

Rat was trying to forget where he was. He didn't like hospitals. The sterilised smell and strict rules reminded him too much of a time he wanted to forget.

"I don't want Lily in CHERUB!" Lauren said, quite calmly.

"But if Lily became a red shirt, we could get jobs here and be nearer our friends and your brother."

Lauren shook her head almost imperceptibly. "I love James, you know I do, but this is not the kind of life I want for my daughter! Look at what it's done to James and Kerry. We're sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting to see if my niece is going to come out of surgery alive! And if she doesn't… I have no idea what that's going to do to them. Call me selfish, but I prefer knowing that my daughter is safe and happy and healthy, and is not getting gunned down by bloodthirsty terrorists!"

Rat waited a second to make sure that she had nothing else to add. "If _you're _finished, _I _will finish what I was saying. She doesn't have to become a CHERUB agent. She can start off at CHERUB, but she doesn't have to continue there. Plus, CHERUB gives you a fantastic education. And Lily would be able to finally meet her extended family."

A shadow fell across Lauren's face. One of the biggest regrets in her life was that her three-year-old daughter had never met her cousins, or her uncle. And Rat knew that it was a sore spot for her.

Rat continued, seizing the opportunity. "James and Kerry would be thrilled to finally meet her. So would Gwen and Jo and – and Sammi." Rat's stutter over Sammi's name was an unwelcome reminder of the predicament they were in.

"They know why I haven't spoken to her about them. It's for her own safety. They know I don't want this life for her. You yourself said that the Australian outback is the perfect place to lie low for a while. And it's worked for three years. They haven't found us yet. I don't want to keep running. That's why I gave up undercover work. You know that, Rat."

"You didn't tell them the other reason, though, the proper reason. And I just thought it might be a good idea. I know you're sick of running, but…" he hesitated.

Lauren sighed. "Just spit it out, Rat."

"OK. Well, we haven't been anywhere for three years. We only came to the reunion because nothing's happened in all that time. You're sick of running, but I'm sick of hiding. There's got to be some sort of middle ground! There has to be."

Lauren was silent for several long moments. "If we are going to… to start taking an… I dunno, _active _participation in the world, we'll need to take into account that the… threat… to our security… hasn't yet been neutralised."

"I also think you should tell James the real reason you gave up undercover work."

She glared at him. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises, today." She said sourly.

"Seriously. He's the only family you have, aside from Lily and myself, obviously… you're meant to tell him _everything_."

"Don't be melodramatic, please. James would be angry if I told him that I've been lying to him for the past ten or so years."

"He would understand." Rat entreated. "Of course, initially, he'd be angry, but after a bit he'd see why you didn't tell him. It was for him and his family's own safety. And you know they wonder why we had Lily so late."

"But they know that's none of their business!"

"But it's related to family security."

"Would you stop it with the 'family security'?" Lauren realised her voice was getting a bit loud for a waiting room. She pulled it down an octave. "It's irritating me. And we can't have this conversation now. We need to be there for James and Kerry, if…"

"Fine. Later, then." Rat agreed.

"You aren't going to make me change my mind." Lauren said stubbornly.

"We'll see."

Giving Rat a glare, Lauren got up and went to comfort Kerry.


	12. Verdict

The Future

James turned his head as Lauren moved over towards him and Kerry. She looked upset. Glancing at Rat, he worked out that they'd been arguing.

"What were you two arguing about this time?" he asked tiredly.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me." James remarked.

"Well… it – it." Lauren sighed. "Like I said. Nothing of any real importance."

"You know what, Lauren?" James said after a moment of silence.

"Hmm?"

"I always wondered why Lily isn't allowed to meet us." He said it in a casual way, but his eyes were sharp as he watched Lauren closely.

"I don't want her in CHERUB… I mean, look at what's happened to Sammi. I can't deal with something like that happening to Lils."

James closed his eyes for a second. "I know. But we left it up to our children to decide for themselves. And what's happened… it's made me feel philosophical. We should tell each other the truth from now on. You never know what may happen."

"I just don't think she would be able to deal with such a big secret." Lauren said stubbornly.

James was silent after this, and when Lauren looked over to see what was up with him, she realised he had his eyes closed. Her heart went out to him. He'd aged over the past five hours. There were other reasons for her keeping CHERUB a secret from her only daughter, but the one she repeatedly gave everyone – about how she was scared for Lily's safety – was entirely valid. Just because it wasn't as valid as the other ones was a moot point in her eyes.

"Why did you quit undercover work?" Kerry broke the silence.

"I wanted a quiet life."

"If you wanted a quiet life, you could've had Lily sooner. And you were on some high-risk mission before that. What happened?"

Rat caught and held Lauren's gaze. _Tell her_, he seemed to be trying to say. _You'll never get a better chance than this. _Taking a deep breath, Lauren did exactly that.

"My last mission at CHERUB was to infiltrate the Aramov clan in Kyrgyzstan with a couple of grey shirts. It was only meant to be a routine mission – but it turned into one of the biggest in CHERUB history."

She now held the attention of everyone in the small waiting room.

"We _almost_ brought them down. They were big weapons dealers, and our mission was to bring them down from the inside. Not at the start, of course, but as it progressed, we got a mission update with higher aims. We were _so close_." Without meaning to, her voice had quietened to below a whisper. Speaking louder, she repeated herself. "We were so close. But at the very last second, my cover got blown. We had to relocate quickly. That's why we moved around so much. But then the threat of them coming after me receded. We moved to Australia just in case, and… we have to stay incognito, you understand?"

"Wow. Whatever I was expecting, it sure wasn't that." Kerry said after a beat.

Gwen's chin was practically touching the floor. "You have _terrorists_ chasing after you!"

"Yes."

"Woah. How cool is that?"

"Keep it real, Gwen." Kerry reprimanded sharply.

"Sorry. But… it just, it seems so … unreal. I can't imagine that."

"You should have told us before. We can keep a secret."

"I know, but it was utterly top secret. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone what had happened." Lauren said sadly.

"Even I didn't know until after the sixth time we moved house." Rat threw in.

"Really? Top-top secret, then." James muttered.

"Zara –"

"Mr. and Mrs. Choke?" a doctor interrupted, walking into the room.

"Yes?" Kerry shot up out of her seat, and stared at the doctor with anxious eyes. "Is she OK?"

James got up more slowly, and held his breath, waiting for the doctor to speak.

"As you know, the surgeon worked for more than five hours. But, the trajectory of the bullet, the direction that it was fired entered up through her ribcage, and tore apart several of her ribs. The splinters punctured her lungs and… her heart. It was a terrible wound. I am… so sorry for your loss."

Kerry swayed on her feet. There was a hollow ringing in her ears and everything sounded like it was coming from the other end of a long tunnel. "Is Samantha alive?" her voice sounded horribly loud in her head.

"Samantha is dead." The doctor confirmed.

Kerry closed her eyes. "No." The quiet denial hung in the air.

She passed out.

...

**_A/N Omigod. I cried while writing this. I'm too sentimental. Please review. Even if it's just to put a little sad face._**


	13. Murderer

The Future

James didn't cry. He was stuck in a numb haze that his mind refused to come out of. He had watched with an almost detached indifference as Kerry swayed on her feet and fainted. It was coming, though. He could feel it. It grew in strength and ferocity until James felt like he was being consumed by it. He couldn't breathe for the monstrous pain that clawed up and down his skin and ripped his heart and soul and mind into tiny little pieces.

He swayed where he stood, but did not notice it because of the pain that was eating him up on the inside. Rat noticed, and gently led his friend into a chair. He tried talking to James, but James was unresponsive. He stared into space, and his expression was such, that after Rat's first failed attempt at getting him to communicate, no-one dared approach him. _Let him be_, the doctor had said. _His mind needs time to protect itself. _

Lauren quietly thanked the doctor for his efforts, and went to help the others in getting the family away from the hospital.

…

Back at campus, Kerry was crying silent tears that ran down her face and dripped off the end of her chin. James had come out of his reverie to try and comfort her, but it was no use. She would not be placated. Gwen was sobbing and Jo looked like she would be crying if her pride would let her.

Joshua had called a special assembly as soon as he got back, and now felt the first inklings of despair as he saw the eyes of hundreds of wise faces that were too old for their time.

"I know you have all been anxiously awaiting news concerning Samantha Adams. I am not going to beat around the bush here. Sammi was pronounced dead at half past three this afternoon."

He waited while the cherubs reacted to the news. It was a horrible shock for everyone. They had been holding vigils in the little church on the edge of campus.

"We all know that Sammi was an outstanding agent and a loyal friend. The many times I have had Sammi in my office for defending people's honour are now times that I treasure dearly. All of us here will mourn her loss, agent or staff, friend or petty enemy. Our hearts and condolences go to her family. Sammi will be sorely missed."

...

"I can't believe it." Kerry croaked.

James shook his head silently. Kerry had only stopped crying a minute earlier. None of them had had any sleep whatsoever that night. The waiting in the hospital had been bad, but at least then there had been a glimmer of possibility and hope. Now there was nothing.

Gwen buried herself deeper into her mother, as if she wanted to mould herself into Kerry.

Joshua quietly opened the door and stepped in. "I told the other CHERUBs the news. Erm…. Feel free to use the facilities here as much as you want to." He glanced to where Gwen was buried in Kerry and to Jo who was leaning against the window.

Jo noticed his scrutiny and stood up.

"Mr. Asker," she began quietly. "I know that my part in… what happened was terrible. But I would like to stay here at CHERUB. I will take whatever punishment you decide to give me. I swear I won't complain."

She waited to hear the inevitable, but instead, Joshua glanced over at Gwen.

"And you, Gwen? Do you want to go through with your CHERUB career? Nobody will think any worse of you if you choose not to."

"I'm really sad that Sammi died." She said starkly. "That doesn't even begin to cover it. I don't know how to say it any different." Gwen took a deep breath. "But I don't want to leave. CHERUB is my home in a way that our house in the country isn't. And I don't think that Sammi would want us to stop living our lives."

She looked around at them all, and there was a maturity there that hadn't been there before.

James nodded slowly and exchanged a long loaded look with Kerry. After a long moment, she nodded.

"We'll take the jobs you offered us here. If they're still free."

"Of course. We've kept the posts open until you gave us your verdict."

"When can we move in?" Kerry had regained a tiny bit of her usual steel.

"As soon as you want. Also, I thought you'd like to know that we caught her."

"Her?" James answered dully. Now that he'd been assured that he would be able to spend more time with his remaining girls, the small spark of life that had appeared was fast dying.

"Yes. It was… I couldn't believe it. I have no idea how she managed to get through Customs. MI5 agents escorted her onto the plane."

"Just tell us who it was." Gwen almost snapped. Knowing that they'd caught her sister's killer had just made her angrier.

"Amy Collins."

…

Her eyes were open, but she could not see a thing. Blurry blackness was the extent of her vision. There was a searing pain in her chest. It wasn't as bad as it had been, before, but it was enough to make her cry out.

"Shut up." A rough voice snarled close to her ear.

She cringed away from it. The voice was loaded with venom and spite.

Slowly she remembered what had happened. She realised what must have happened afterwards.

_What am I going to do?_

_..._

**_A/N Okey-dokey, here's the thing. I don't like the name of this story. SOOOO what I was thinking was to upload the version that I submitted to the comp, and re-title this. But don't worry. I will do it when I next UD. By the way, does anybody have any good suggestions for a title? Cos I'm coming up blank. Put it in your review._**


	14. Reassurance

_**A/N This past week I've been trying to come up with a good name for the story, and I've decided to call it **_Cracked Future._** Probably not the best title, but I wanted to go along with the future idea. Anyhoo, enjoy the next installment.**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm not Robert Muchamore. I'm a girl. I did not make up these characters. (Just in case you didn't get that from the whole 'girl' line).**_

_**...**_

The Future

Joshua was sick of paperwork. There was one thing he wanted to do right now, and that was go to his bed and sleep. He did not want to stay another minute going through paperwork. But there was so much of it! When he'd accepted the offer of CHERUB Chairman, he had thought it would be loads of fun, and like a continuation of his CHERUB days. It was anything but. Yes, there were a lot of secretive things that he was in on; but he had to be polite and political. Sometimes he just wanted to yell at people, but courtesy dictated that he shouldn't.

Worse than that, though, was the ever-increasing amount of paperwork he had to do. Page after page of mission briefings, letters, bills, invitations… the list was endless.

Leaning back in his chair, Joshua closed his eyes and stretched his hands above his head. Just as he was letting out a massive yawn, there was a timid knock on the door of his office.

"Come in." he called.

Joanna Adams' head peeked around the door. "I'm sorry," she said, seeing the mounds of paper on his desk. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I can go –"

"No, Jo, you can give me an excuse to leave it for another ten minutes. Have a seat. How are you?"

"Tired. I haven't slept at all."

"How are you really, Jo?" Joshua pressed.

She sighed, and then lowered her head so that she was looking into her lap. "It's all my fault." She said in a small voice.

"I wouldn't go as far as all that." Joshua told her gently.

"I would." Jo sniffed. "I'm a gullible idiot."

"Are you still with him?" Joshua asked, not totally able to stifle his curiosity on the subject of her erstwhile boyfriend.

"No. I learn from my mistakes."

"Good. I'm glad. So. Did you come here looking for sympathy, or…?"

Jo traced the edge of the desk. She stayed silent. Joshua turned to the pile of paper on his desk and began rifling through it.

"I can't stand it." She said suddenly.

Joshua looked up from his work. "Can't stand what?"

"The atmosphere. It's awful. I- I can't believe that I did that. It _was_ my fault Sammi died."

"It wasn't entirely your fault. Mainly, it was an accident."

Jo looked up. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering right away, he gestured to his desk. "Do you know what all of this is?" he asked.

"Bills?" Jo suggested.

"No. Well, partly. But most of it is an accident report on how they got in, and why everything played out like it did. I was speaking to Amy – again – a couple of hours ago, and she insists it was an accident. Sammi was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Personally, I'm inclined to believe her."

"But she already tried to do away with Dad. What if she has some ridiculous grudge against us? What if –"

"There is no point going into the 'what if's'. As for your grudge idea, she never meant for anyone to get hurt. Just for us to stop targeting Help Earth. I quote, 'They told me they were just going to knock James unconscious.' Not kill, you see? After that she said she didn't know how it all went so badly wrong. I disagree with that bit. She knew it could go wrong. Help Earth are violent."

"What are you going to do with her?" Jo asked quietly.

Joshua studied the sad girl in front of him and decided to tell the truth. "If this gets out, I will know exactly who spoke. OK?" He waited for her nod, before talking again. "We will not be sending her back to Australia. We can't kill her, because that is against British policies. So, we are going to send her to one of our maximum security prisons. We gave her the benefit of the doubt once before, and she came back with armed men and attempted to storm the place and demand a ransom."

"That's another thing. Why did she bring armed terrorists here?"

"Apparently, she was unhappy with the way CHERUB have treated her. She said to me, 'I have given so much to CHERUB. And the one time I go off the rails a bit, you send me away, with not even my full pay.'"

"Full pay…?"

"We had to deduct money from her redundancy check to pay for the damages. She didn't take too well to that, obviously."

All was silent in the office, while Joanna digested this information.

"So… it wasn't my fault?" she asked hesitantly.

"It was. You let them in. But it wasn't your fault entirely. Joanna, you need to learn to read people better. And you need to learn when to judge if things are right or wrong. I honestly do not know what came over you. So, I suggest three months of counselling, just to have someone you can talk to about absolutely anything; because I am sure there is at least one thing you can't talk to your parents about, hm?"

Jo blushed a fiery red, but before she could deny all wrong-doing, Joshua carried on.

"I also would like you to help out in the Junior block four nights a week; and you have to do two hours of ditch-digging a day for five months. You are one of our best agents, so I am only suspending you from small-scale missions for three months. However, that means no big missions for seven. How does that sound?"

"Awful. But I probably deserve worse."

"Probably." Joshua said amiably. "But I meant what I said earlier. You are one of our best agents. Now, I reckon you should go and get some sleep. You are scheduled for a meeting with you counsellor tomorrow morning at eight."

…

_What am I going to do?_ She still had no answer to her earlier question. She had now spent almost twenty-four hours in their care. And each second was agony. They had beaten her when she refused to talk. They had threatened and slapped her when she said the wrong things.

_Keep quiet,_ she told herself. _Stay silent, close your eyes, and maybe you'll wake up in bed and find it was all a dream. And if not, stay sane. Stay strong and proud and live in the knowledge that they will come._

_ For without that knowledge, _she thought. _I will die_.

_**I will die.**_


	15. Time

**_A/N I am so sorry to everyone who has been waiting for months to hear the next installment of this story. I am busier than ever at the moment, and I have just finished writing this next chapter. I haven't had time to edit it properly; so if there's any typos please forgive me, and I will get to it next time I have a chance!_**

**_..._**

The Future

The hospital had advised that Sammi be cremated. The state of her body was 'not fit for gentle stomachs', they had said. So, now, exactly one week since the doctor had told them she had died, the family and the whole of CHERUB campus were standing silently on the grassy hill at the back of campus where Sammi used to play when she was little. Her body had been placed in a casket, and the casket in turn had been lodged between two large sticks of wood atop a huge cumbersome pile of timber.

The infrequent sobs and hiccupping wails of people that had been close to her broke the dead silence.

A minister walked up the natural aisle made by the CHERUBs. He had been a CHERUB himself, once, and returned to campus whenever there were any religious ceremonies he needed to be present at. Never in his whole career had he had to come to CHERUB campus for a funeral.

Turning to face his audience he caught sight of the Chokes. He had been going to drone the usual funeral service, but upon seeing them… the words he spoke came from his heart.

"We all know that being a CHERUB agent is a risky business. We all did it, and still do it at our own risk, as we are constantly reminded. Yet, almost never in the whole history of CHERUB has an agent turned down a mission. After a number of deaths at the start of CHERUB's history, precautions were put in place. You have to be ten years old to become an agent; before that, even, you have to pass basic training. However, in spite of all of this… injuries, and in rare cases, death still happen.

"We are here, today, not to mourn the death of Samantha Adams, but to celebrate her life. As a CHERUB agent, she led an exciting life, to say the least. Let us be happy when remembering that short life." At that Kerry sniffed. The minister glanced at her for a brief second, and remembered the presence of her family.

"People in power – the Prime Minister, the Intelligence Minister, both of who are present today – will remember her as a soldier who died fighting for her country. Her family, however, and her friends will remember her as a girl that was committed to the end. A girl that died long before her time. Samantha Adams."

Three huge seventeen-year-olds stepped up, and began pouring petrol over the mound. When they had finished, every single person in the audience stepped up and threw a flower on the pile. It lit up brighter than a bonfire

…

A year later, Gwen Adams was on her 87th day of basic training. Every day was complete and utter pain and exhaustion. Sleep was her only relief. So far the instructors hadn't interrupted their sleep once, despite all the stories she'd heard across campus of getting woken in the middle of the night.

On this particular day, Gwen found herself staggering, completely exhausted, to bed after a day of karate, Greek, and punishments. The next day, they were embarking on a plane ride to an 'isolated part of South America', as the instructors insisted on calling it. The trainees had no idea what part of South America they were going to – that is, until tomorrow, when they got on the plane.

Gwen curled up, and brought the thin blanket to her chin, trying for some semblance of warmth.

After an hour, she was still awake. Her brain wouldn't shut up enough for her to be able to sleep. There were way too many thoughts fluttering around her head. There was something she was supposed to remember…

It came to her suddenly, just as she'd been drifting off to sleep. Today was the seventeenth of May. Exactly one year ago, on this day, Sammi was shot. Gwen was horrified to realise that she'd barely thought of her sister at all in the last eighty-seven days. Silent tears trickled across the bridge of her nose and collected in a small wet patch on her pillow. _Sammi._

…

"So, would you? For a thousand bucks?" Alex Grahams passed the whisky bottle over to his new girlfriend Jo Macgregor.

Jo Macgregor – also known as undercover CHERUB agent Joanna Adams – silently heaved a sigh as she pretended to consider the question. "No, I really don't think so."

Alex and the rest if their small group laughed at Jo's blasé tone.

"Oh, hey," the dyed-blonde girl exclaimed. "I don't have your number, Jo. What is it?"

"Oh, um, hang on while I –" Jo stopped short, staring at the display screen on her phone.

"Um, Jo? Jo? Earth to Jo?" Alex waved a hand in front of her face. "Are you crying?"

"I – I – sorry." Jo sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, smearing carefully-applied mascara around her eyes. "I just – I forgot the date."

"It's the seventeenth. What, did you forget someone's birthday in England, or something?" the blonde one threw at her.

The careless words hit Jo harder than she would have thought possible from an almost-complete stranger. "No… My sister died last year. Forgot it was today."

"Oh my god… I'm so sorry." The blonde – whose name Jo remembered was Cathy – backtracked quickly, a look of almost comical horror on her face.

Alex gave Cathy a reproachful look, while taking the opportunity to slip a lanky arm around Jo's shoulders. Jo shrugged him off and walked to where she'd left her bag.

"Um, I'm gonna go home, if that's OK with you. I think…" What did she think? She didn't want to be on a mission in America. She wanted to be at home. She wanted to be with her family. She wanted to know how they all were; most especially Gwen. "I think I should go home for a bit. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

…

Kerry and James had been the living dead all day. Without their work at CHERUB, they didn't know how to fill the day. All they could think of was their children. Sammi was dead. Gwen was in basic training. Jo was in America. They had no-one close to them to share their sadness.

It was evening, now. They were sitting in front of the TV, the room horribly still and devoid of life, lost in their thoughts.

James was the first to break the silence. "Was it an awful idea putting our children into CHERUB?"

After a pause, Kerry spoke. "It didn't seem so bad at the time. It seemed like an excellent way to live."

James sighed, and the stillness prevailed.

"I miss her." Kerry spoke softly. "I miss them all." She rested her head dejectedly into the back of her chair.

James stretched out a hand towards her, rubbing soothing circles into her hand as Kerry's tears overflowed.

…

She stared out the window in to the darkness beyond.

A year. It had been a year. She had counted every single day of that year, scratching them into the wall of the room where she was kept prisoner. When would they come? She mustn't give up hope. But she was starting to wonder if they thought she was dead. If that was the case… she would never be saved.

Turning much too swiftly, she doubled over as pain shot through her chest. Her injuries were only partially healed, even after all this time. Without any proper doctors or medical equipment around, it had been heal or die. She had chosen to heal herself. Dying was not an option now.

But the inevitable would happen if they failed to turn up and save her.

**_Please review! They are much appreciated!_**


	16. Static

_**A/N Right. Jeez. Two months? That's inexcusable. I am SO SO sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for some of the long wait. Since school finished today, I should have a little more time to write! **_

**_On another note, I just wanted to inform you all of the Hunger Games trilogy. I was quite apprehensive about starting these books, but they're honestly amazing. They even have that little edge of adventure that CHERUB has. So, if you're looking for something new to read, I would recommend them. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins._**

__  
><strong><em>On <em>**another**_ note, if you are a big Harry Potter fan, I'd like to direct you to AddictedToSugarQuills, and a-trip-to-honeydukes' profiles. Although, Addictedtosugarquills is really depressing. I should know, as I see her at school every day. a-trip-to-honeydukes is much more lighthearted. Just like she is. They write well, and understand the Sacred Laws of Spelling and Grammar. _**

The Future

Joanna Adams was asleep. She was in the middle of what appeared to be a really nice dream; it had been so long since her sleep hadn't been plagued with nightmares. She was running through a field, holding her sisters' hands, feeling her parents' eyes on them as they watched them frolic about. Then there was a shaking, and the world started crumbling around her feet. Sammi let go of her hand and ran away. Gwen melted into the shadows. Spinning on the spot, watching the whole world sway, she saw her parents were gone too. She began to scream. The sound ripped out of her lungs and left her breathless; she couldn't breathe, she was dying, the world was crumbling, everyone had left her, and she was going to die alone.

"Gah!" her eyes opened suddenly. Her breathing was heavy, and her heart was fluttering like a bird's wings. She couldn't quite make sense of her surroundings. What had happened? Needing to centre herself, she began a technique her psychiatrist had shown her. She ran through the sure facts.

_My name is Joanna Adams. I am 15 years old. I have two sisters. I am a CHERUB agent. The world is not swaying. No-one has died. I am lying in bed, drenched in sweat. _

Wait. One of those was not a fact. She only had one sister. Sammi had died.

"Wake up, Jo!" The door flew open. "Oh. You're awake."

"What's wrong, Janet?" Jo sat up to get a better look at her mission controller. "Janet?"

"There's no time to explain! I'm sorry –" she flicked the light on, and started throwing Joanna's clothes and few personal items into a suitcase. "We're due at the airport in an hour."

"The airport?" Jo struggled to catch up in her sleep-deprived state. "Why…"

"There's no time to explain. But you're wanted back home – the mission here's not important enough to stay. It's an emergency. Help me pack!"

…

"ADAMS! GET YOUR WORTHLESS BUTT OUT HERE, NOW!" Gwen sat bolt upright, eyes wide, and scrambled out of bed. All around her, trainees were rubbing their eyes and looking around tiredly.

"ADAMS!" The shout came again. Gwen abandoned dressing, and hurried out into the early sunshine of a typical Peruvian summer's day.

She stood to attention in front of Head Training Instructor Kazakov. He glared at her, his hard eyes taking in her rumpled pyjamas and single boot. "Take your time, why don't you," he grumbled to himself.

"Sorry, sir."

"Hm. Well, never mind. You've to go home."

"What?" Gwen was pulled up short. Go home? But she hadn't finished basic training!

"Excuse me?" Kazakov's voice went deadly quiet. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a lack of manners.

"Erm… pardon?" Gwen hastily corrected herself. "Sir?"

"Something's come up. I am not at liberty to tell you, and even if I was, I wouldn't."

"But what about basic?" Gwen asked.

"That's the other thing. Here." He threw her a grey t-shirt. "You are to get your grey shirt three days early."

"Thank you, sir." Gwen eyed the grey CHERUB shirt reverently. It was just as she'd hoped. Getting her grey shirt early! But why? Obviously Kazakov wasn't going to give her any answers. She would just have to find someone else and ask them…

"Make no mistake, Adams. I will make your training even harder than it was going to be already, because of this… discrepancy."

"But I haven't done anything." Gwen was bewildered.

"Do you think I care?"

…

The day had begun like any other for James and Kerry. Get up, have breakfast, go to work. However, everything was turned on its head when a phone call came down to them from Joshua Asker.

"What do you think's happened?" Kerry wondered as she and James made their way to the Chairman's Office.

"No idea." James replied. There was a short pause. "But I heard that Gwen's been sent home early."

"What?" Kerry turned to look at James. "Has she hurt herself? She can't have quit…"

"I don't know, Kerry," James gave a troubled frown. "I just hope that she's OK."

Entering the Chairman's Office was always a bizarre experience for both James and Kerry. They had both spent so much of their time in here, under both Mac and Zara's rule, James more than Kerry. Zara had changed the office dramatically when she became Chairwoman, but Joshua hadn't done much to it since he'd bagged the job. It was a bit surreal to see little, cute Joshua Asker sitting behind that great glass desk, running CHERUB.

He looked up as his secretary ushered them in. "Ah, you're here."

James and Kerry shared a nervous glance at his grave tone. What could have happened?

"Is Gwen OK?" asked Kerry, getting straight to the point. "Only, we heard she's been sent home early."

"Gwen is perfectly safe, as far as I know. She has received her grey shirt early with outstanding results."

"Why?" James asked. "Why has she been given her shirt early, and the others haven't?"

"Gwen has been pulled out because of reasons that are beyond her control. Late last night, we received a phone call. The line was extremely bad – the caller kept breaking up. However, we did manage to work out what she was saying."

"Which was…?" James prompted.

Joshua turned to his computer, and selected an audio file. "We put this together from the whole phone call. She seemed unable to hear us; we aren't sure why. This is what the girl was trying to say." He selected the audio file, and a familiar static-y voice issued from the computer speakers.

"This is Agent 6382! Please help me. Please."

Kerry and James looked at each other. The panic-stricken, fear-filled voice was so, so familiar.

"That's my baby," whispered Kerry. "That's my Sammi."

...

_**A/N OK, guys, I know I haven't updated in a LONG time, but that's a really stupid reason not to review. Not reviewing, is like... setting fire to your best friend's house, and not telling them. It's, like, inexcusable. There is no reason not to review. And not reviewing out of spite is even worse. So... review! Review every chapter you read, because that is what encourages me to write,(and after the sorry lot of reviews I got for the last chapter, it was a miracle I even wrote this one.)**_

__**_REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!_**


	17. Arrival

**_A/N Looking back over previous chapters, I realised that I've never really said thanks. So here it is: THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH FOR READING AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, REVIEWING MY STORY(IES). It really does mean a lot._**

**_Speaking of reviews, I received an interesting one from an anonymous reader. They commented that my chapters were too short. I just thought I'd explain it here, as I can't pm them directly. All of my chapters are around 1,000 words. Writing that much in about an hour every time is a pretty good accomplishment, I think. I don't really have much time to write more. Also, I try to keep each chapter on a single stage of the development of the story. I personally _****_find it irritating when a chapter spans six days and eight different events. The story doesn't flow quite so well. Also, I find it highly annoying reading off a computer screen for hours. So I try to make my chapters a 'decent' length. I don't think the chapters will be getting any longer any time soon._**

**_Now, this chapter didn't quite turn out as I had planned. I was at a competition all day, and I was doing homework yesterday, so this is the only time I've had to do anything. As it happens, the preliminaries took a lot more words than I originally hoped; but as I'm getting up at 5:00am tomorrow, I figured it's best to stop at nine, so I can go to bed. Hopefully the next chapter will be better (and posted a bit faster), but I can't guarantee anything._**

**_Anyhoo, enjoy the next installment!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own CHERUB, or anything you recognise from the books. I do, however, own this plotline, so don't steal it. Or I will hunt you down..._**

**_..._**

The Future

Gwen stumbled off the plane, and made her way, zombie-like, through customs. Her flight had been almost nineteen hours long due to a delay, and she had managed to grab less than six hours' sleep, since being rudely awoken by Kazakov.

As she walked into Arrivals, she looked around carefully for CHERUB personnel. Much to her dismay, there wasn't any.

"Are you joking me?" she muttered to herself. She walked all around the airport twice, before deducing that there really wasn't anybody there.

"'Scuse me," she said as she approached the information desk. "Has there been anyone here asking for me?"

The heavily made-up lady scrutinised her. "What's your name, doll?" Her accent was distinctly American.

Gwen grimaced. "Gwyneth Adams."

The lady snorted. "Well, ain't that an odd name for times like these? Back in the States, you'd be a laughing stock."

"My parents named me after my grandmother," Gwen spoke through gritted teeth. "Who died."

"Sorry to hear that, doll." She replied breezily.

Gwen waited for another moment. "Well?"

"Well, what, doll?" the American gave her a sickly sweet smile.

"Has anyone been looking for me?" Gwen repeated, exasperated.

"Um, no. I would've said, doll face." The lady settled back into her seat, and opened a glossy magazine.

Gwen stared at the unbelievably perfect face of the model on the front of the magazine, before enunciating her next request.

"Can I use your phone?"

The lady slapped her magazine down. "There's a pay phone over there, toots." She pointed towards a dirty, rundown affair, with a pointy finger.

"I haven't got any money." Gwen spoke quietly, but was clearly incensed.

"Reverse the charges. 'S not difficult, doll." Leaning back in her chair again, she rested her stockinged feet upon the desk, and once again disappeared behind her magazine.

Muttering obscenities under her breath, Gwen went to try and work out how to use the old-fashioned phone.

…

Joanna had a much smoother arrival back onto CHERUB campus. Her mission controller, Janet, had driven all the way down from a tiny Highland village in Scotland. As she dropped her bags in the foyer of the main building, her mother appeared, hurrying down the corridor towards her.

"Mum." Jo breathed, glad to see hear after so many months apart. They embraced tightly.

Kerry pulled away slightly to get a better look at her eldest daughter's face. At the same time, Jo got an unwelcome look at her mother's.

Kerry seemed to have aged several years in the past one. There were more lines carved into her face, but it was more than that… the inexplicable energy that Kerry had always had throughout Jo's childhood was gone. She looked old. Her eyes were exhausted.

And Jo, despite what she had been told time and time again, couldn't help feeling that it was because of her.

"You look lovely, baby." Kerry caressed her face. "Did you have an OK time away?"

The anxious look on Kerry's face tipped Jo off to the real question – _you don't still blame yourself over Sammi, do you?_ The awful thing was, in some deep, unexplored part of herself, she still did.

"I had a lovely time, Mum. I made lots of new friends." She answered automatically, but with just enough vigour to convince her mother, at least in part, that she was recovering.

"Good. Well, we've got some news, darling." Kerry began. "I suppose you want to know why your mission was aborted?"

"Please." Jo replied.

Kerry led the way into Joshua's office, where James was standing with his back to the door, gazing out of the window. Joshua was sitting at his desk, leafing through papers.

At the sound of the girls coming in, James turned, and hurried over to give his daughter a hug and a kiss.

"Sit down, Jo." Joshua sighed, folding up his papers.

Jo sat.

"OK… well, as you are well aware, Sammi died last year."

Jo didn't flinch. She didn't blink, she barely breathed at that last comment. Her head bent to look at her intertwining fingers.

"New information has come to light that… well, that Sammi is still alive."

Her head snapped up. Her eyes caught and held Joshua's. "Pardon?"

In answer, Joshua played the recording. "This is Agent 6382! Please help me. Please."

In the following silence, Jo turned to stare at her aged parents. They stared right back.

"So, have you got any leads?"

"Nearly. I actually wanted to talk it over with all of you present. Come to think of it, Gwen should have arrived before you…"

There was a knock at the door, and Joshua's secretary stuck her head around the door. "Call for you on line 3, Josh."

"Can it not wait?" Joshua asked, a hint of irritation leaking into his voice.

"Well, it's one of our agents calling from an airport. She sounded pretty angry, so I thought you would be the best person to deal with her."

"An airport…? Carla, you didn't by any chance send someone to go and meet an agent at Heathrow, an hour or so ago?"

"No, sir. You never said. Would you like me to send someone now?" Carla offered.

"Please." Joshua turned back to the Adams family. "Damn."

…

Janet Ellis therefore found herself running down to the airport to meet Gwen. As she pulled in to the car park, she caught sight of Gwen's stormy face.

"Sorry, Gwen," Janet apologised as Gwen threw her stuff into the boot, and climbed into the front passenger seat. "Joshua's been so busy, lately. You'll never guess the kind of things that have been coming up in the last few hours."

"I don't really care, Janet." Gwen replied frostily. "I'm so pissed off, it's unbelievable. I've been waiting here for two bloody hours! What the hell could have come up that you would leave me waiting at an airport, the dullest place in the world…"

Gwen ranted for the rest if the journey.

…

_**A/N Yeah, so reviewing more would make me happy. How's about we try to set a target? 70 reviews, minimum. That sounds good, right? Let's try and get to seventy. And more than that is great as well!**_


	18. Briefing

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise from the books, but everything you don't!_**

The Future

Maps covered every inch of the six foot long table, with hundreds of complex diagrams and seemingly endless notes laying over it; or, in some cases, etched into it. Filtered moonlight crept across the floor through the tinted window, shedding a little light on the rather dim scene. Seven people were spread around the table, frowning, studying, and adding notes to various parts of the maps and diagrams.

"I still don't understand," Gwen complained, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "How do we find Sammi if we can't trace her call?"

"We can," Kerry answered. "We just need another phone call to be able to do it."

Joshua spread out several sheets of paper in front of him. "How about we start by making this phone call?"

"What do you mean?" Janet looked up, confused.

"I mean," he said, placing a phone and a chunky, old-fashioned tracer on the table. "Someone rings the number she called off, right now."

"Now?" Jo looked up, aghast. "It's far too late to do it now! They'll know we're on to them!"

"Fortunately for us," Joshua pressed on. "We have someone who has been trained in, 'The Art of Keeping Suspects on the Phone Long Enough for us to Trace Them.' James?"

James looked unsure. "I guess so," he said slowly. "But are we sure this won't hurt Sammi? Are we sure they can't trace us?"

"This network is about as secure as it gets. The signal is bounced off numerous different satellites-"

"But that can be traced!" Kerry interjected.

"It's a new type of signal. I don't understand it all, but the boffins have assured the Intelligence Minister that it works, one hundred per cent. As for the risk to Sammi; well, nothing is risk-free, is it? As a CHERUB agent, I'm going to hope that if anything drastic happens, she is strong enough to defend herself."

"Oh, God." Kerry sat back in her chair, putting her head in her hands.

James sat for what seemed like a long time, fingering the sleek black phone. It was such an innocent-looking thing; you would never know that a life depended on it.

Finally, James looked up. "I'll do it. It's the only way. We have no other leads."

Joshua nodded, and began pressing buttons and twiddling dials

"Do you really think she's going to risk another call?" Gwen raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"She already probably risked far too much…" Janet murmured.

James looked around the people assembled, carefully gauging the general mood. He leaned back in his chair. "How about we all go and get some rest? It's very late, and the kids have spent all day on a plane. We're all exhausted, and frankly, we don't even know what time zone she's in. How suspicious is it going to look if we ring up pretending to be a-an insurance seller or something, and it's half three in the morning?"

Joshua looked surprised. "Did I not say?" he asked with a yawn. "We traced it automatically to erm, where was it, Jan?"

"The Maldives, I'm pretty sure." Janet took a moment to verify with a large filofax, before looking back and nodding. "Yeah, the Maldives."

There was a short pause as they digested this titbit of information.

"What time's it there, now?" Gwen wondered.

"Let's have a look, shall, we?" James took out his pocket computer and pulled up a time converter. "It says it's 07:00AM in Male now."

"That's a decent time." Joshua encouraged.

Joanna gave him a funny look. "I'm usually still in bed at 7, Josh."

"Yeah, but you're what? Seventeen? Sixteen? You can still have lie-ins, girl. Professional abductioners won't." he concluded.

"Abductioners?" Kerry asked, leaning forward.

He waved it off as James chuckled into his coffee. "Same difference. James, are you ready to make that call?"

…

_**CLASSIFIED**_

_MISSION BRIEFING FOR GWYNETH ADAMS, JOANNA ADAMS, JOSHUA ASKER, ROBERT JAMES CHOKE, KERRY CHOKE, AND JANET ELLIS._

_THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED WITH AN ISBN MICROCHIP._

_ANY ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT FROM THE MISSION PREPARATION WAREHOUSE WILL SET OFF AN IMMEDIATE CAMPUS LOCKDOWN._

_DO NOT PHOTOCOPY OR MAKE NOTES._

_CHERUB CAMPUS INFILTRATION 2031_

_The Help Earth terrorist organisation made CHERUB history in October 2031 when they successfully infiltrated CHERUB campus with the help of rogue agent MATTHEW WALLIS during the annual reunion of retired agents. The terrorists were discovered by SAMANTHA ADAMS, Gwyneth Adams and Kerry Choke while in the Junior block._

_ They were kept at gunpoint by the masked terrorists for over an hour until James Choke and Joanna Adams realised their absence. After calling Kerry, they discovered what had happened. After notifying the campus authorities, it was discovered that the gate guards had been brutally murdered, although one had had time to press the intruder alarm, the first notification that something was had gone wrong. It also became apparent to those involved that to pull together a response was going to take far too much time._

_ As a result, James, Joanna, LAUREN and GREG RATHBONE launched their own rescue operation. At the same time, the three trapped women were forced to fight for their lives, taking on two dozen men with nothing but their bare hands and superior fighting skills. All three women were rescued with only minor injuries._

_ Later that day, after the terrorists had been locked up in a secure area pending further investigation, the facts of the episode were being unravelled, with testimonies from all those involved. During this, a final, female terrorist, later found to be former CHERUB agent AMY COLLINS, burst in, and fatally wounded Samantha Adams._

_ All the terrorists that fateful day were sent to a maximum security prison in a secret location, to prevent them from leaking CHERUB's location._

_A MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALL_

_It was assumed that Samantha Adams had died, as what was thought to be her body had been burned in a ceremony witnessed by every agent on CHERUB campus. However, a phone call was received recently requesting help for Agent 6382 – Samantha's agent number. The call was also run through the latest, most advanced voice-recognition software available, and was found to match the voice files of Samantha herself._

_This startling discovery brought to light a number of factors; _

_Samantha may still be alive._

_Someone had taken her with knowledge of CHERUB's whereabouts._

_Point number (2) caused concern for CHERUB's leading directors and ethics committee, as it meant that CHERUB had enemies that possibly knew its position. If this knowledge was leaked, it could endanger CHERUB agents all over the globe._

_TRACED_

_The phone call was traced and a phone call made to pinpoint its exact location. This happens to be outside of Male near a rural village where the kidnappers could be buying supplies._

_It is also unofficially known that a drugs cartel is based in this area. Agents are reminded to regard any suspicious activities with the utmost caution._

_It has been discovered by Janet Ellis that the phone belonged to a Doctor Mark Anderson, registered as an American citizen. He was also the doctor in charge of treating Samantha's gunshot wounds._

_Mark Anderson has no previous convictions, but there is almost no previous data on him anywhere. It appears that he did not exist until around five years ago. Agents are reminded to treat him with the utmost caution, as nobody knows what he may do._

_The CHERUB Mission_

_ Joshua Asker will be posing as a door-to-door salesman, finding out as much information as possible on the layout of the house and any security systems in place, drawing the inhabitants' attention away from any windows at the back of the house. Gwen and Joanna will be scouting the house at this point, doing the same. Joshua is to keep the attention away from the back of the house at all costs. A team of MI5 snipers will be positioned nearby, with a SWAT team on call in case things go wrong. However, this is not expected so early into the mission. _

_ Once the relevant data has been collected, the house will be stormed by the SWAT team, with the sniper team hopefully positioned in strategic locations to take down any fleeing survivors of the attack._

_ Any prisoners taken by the kidnappers inside the house or nearby will be taken to a safe location where they will be treated for any injuries, mental or physical._

_ Any of the accused that are still alive will be taken into custody and questioned extensively on the business._

_NOTE: ON THE TWELFTH OF NOVEMBER 2032 THIS MISSION WAS PASSED BY THE ETHICS COMMITTEE BY A 2:1 VOTE ON THE CONDITION THAT AGENTS UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:_

_This mission has been classified HIGH RISK. The unknown factors far outstrip the known factors of this mission. It was passed only because CHERUB's position may be in danger if knowledge has indeed been leaked. Agents will be at risk of violence and possible exposure to illegal drugs. _

_ALL AGENTS ARE REMINDED OF THEIR RIGHT TO REFUSE TO UNDERTAKE THIS MISSION AND TO WITHDRAW FROM IT AT ANY TIME AND THAT THEY WILL BE EXCLUDED IMMEDIATELY FROM CHERUB IF THEY WILLINGLY USE ANY CLASS A DRUG._

_**...**_

**_Please review. I know it's been a while, but I'm not expecting the story to last longer than a few more chapters. Reviews are much appreciated as well!_**

**_SB13_**


	19. Old Friends

**_A/N Sorry for the long, long wait. However, please excuse the lateness, enjoy the story, and review. Reviewing makes me write faster._**

The Future

Two girls were walking down the road, one significantly older than the other. To the untrained eye, they appeared to be two tourists, sisters that had been allowed out by themselves by tired, hot and possibly very sunburnt parents. They appeared to be bickering as they walked slowly down the road, looking around, evidently marvelling to themselves at the expanse of blue, blue sky above them.

To the trained eye, however, they were quite clearly checking the buildings around them for cameras, electric fences and remote-controlled weapons.

A trained eye would realise that these girls had been wandering in circles around the same area for over an hour.

To the trained eye, these girls were CHERUB agents.

Of course, at this point, CHERUB was a secret. But Gwen couldn't help glancing behind every few steps to check that they weren't being followed.

"For God's sake, Gwen," Jo muttered. "Stop acting like a criminal."

"I sure feel like one." Gwen muttered back. She glanced to the left, sure that old women look ing into a shop window was really watching their every move. She had an automatic hidden beneath her shawl, a long, vicious blade strapped to her leg. She was speaking into a walkie-talkie, telling her superiors what they were doing. Oh, God, she was turning, her hand going to her knife, her gun she was turning to face them, run _run_ RUN.

Gwen grabbed Jo's arm, intending to drag her away from danger if she wouldn't willingly move, when a blast came from the opposite direction.

…

A white, nondescript van was parked by the kerb on the opposite side of the large suburban area of the Maldives the two girls had been wandering around.

"They haven't seen anything more than a few cameras in odd places, so far," James said, breaking the tense silence. "There doesn't seem to be anything covering the door. Now is as good a time as ever."

Joshua hummed tunelessly to himself, turning it over in his head. "How about we radio them to turn around and come back – then move in when we know they're safe?"

"I agree with that," Kerry said, fiddling with the control panel as James nodded. "Here we go," she put on the headpiece that allowed her to communicate with them both. "Gwen, come in."

There was a pause as they waited for Gwen to respond.

"Gwen," Kerry raised her voice. "At least turn your mic on if you can't speak so I can hear what you're saying."

She waited, listening to the static filling her ears.

Frowning, she flipped to the other channel. "Jo? Jo, come in. This is not the time for games, young lady."

But the voice that answered back was most definitely not Jo's.

A man's voice came back through her ear.

"Good afternoon, Kerry Chang. And how are you today, hmm? How is your husband, James Adams? I hope he is well. We were – ah – good friends back in the day. He got me out of a few scrapes, that much is true. You can imagine my shock and anger, when I realised he was not who I thought he was."

Kerry stilled, shock and horror filling her at the sound of that voice. Shaking her head, she snapped herself out of it. It was deeper, much deeper than the last time she had heard it, but it was undoubtedly the same. She quietly pushed the speaker button, unplugging the headset at the same time.

She watched James' eyes widen and his mouth drop open at the highly unexpected voice. They gazed at each other, conveying everything they had no words for in a single glance.

"But enough of that, hmm? I suppose you'll be wondering where your two – oh, sorry, _three _brats have gotten to, am I right?"

The silence stretched on, nobody daring to speak, Joshua and Janet looking from the screen to Kerry to James and back again, wondering how they knew this man – what mission they had encountered him on before, when they were both CHERUB agents.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, I am not particularly patient. So, unless you want your children to be – ah – _irreversibly maimed_, I would advise you to answer." His voice was sharp, cutting through the atmosphere like a knife cuts through butter.

"Where are they?" James spoke for the first time, his voice cutting across the man over the headset.

"Ah, James. You know, I actually liked you once. You were the best mate I ever had. Unfortunately, I now know differently. Bringing down my dad's empire like that – that was harsh." He sounded amused, speaking of the thing that had left him without free money, forced to beg gang members for odd jobs and cash.

"You didn't answer my question." James' voice was hard, leaving no room for compassion.

"Well, if you have to be like that," the man muttered. "They're safe – for the minute. I must say, your daughter's good. Very good. Stealing my phone like that – well, it was highly unexpected, especially in her… condition."

"Don't you dare touch them. I swear to God, I'll kill you if you harm them." James was gripping the console, his biceps swelling with rage, his face contorted with anger.

"Oh, it's too late for that, old friend, far too late. I suggest you come and find them. You know where to look. I assure you that you won't get killed before you reach them." The smile was evident in his voice, and then the line went dead.

"Dammit!" James ripped out the central monitor, and threw it across the other side of the van.

Just as suddenly, he sat down, the anger evaporating almost immediately, replaced with unbearable anguish and guilt.

The van was silent for a few beats as they all digested the surprising – to say the least – turn of events.

Joshua spoke first.

"Who was that?" he wondered.

Kerry raised her head from her arms, and caught James' eye.

He sighed, and pushed himself off the ground to his feet.

Leaning against the ruined console, he spoke.

"Junior Moore."

...

_**A/N Like I said, please review. Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? It's that button that says review. You just have to click on it and write in the box. You can even write anonymously. Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase REVIEW!**_


	20. Captured

**_A/N Hello, faithful readers! Sorry about the long wait. However, it has come to my attention that some people seem to think that I have stopped writing this story. DO NOT WORRY, I am still writing it. I just find it very difficult to find time to write properly. I don't want to give you guys rubbishy chapters to fill in time. As I'm sure I've said before, I have a very busy life, what with school, swimming, piano, flute and finding time to be sociable with my friends. But I will have more time to write, now, as it's the summer holidays!_**

**_Second, I'm not entirely sure if I should change the rating to T. Let me know what you think after you've read this chapter. It's my longest one yet! Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) I am not Robert Muchamore. I'm just playing with his characters._**

**_..._**

The Future

The first thing Gwen Adams registered was a searing pain in her ankle, one she promptly ignored as she slowly sat up, eyes darting everywhere, trying to see through the blackness that enveloped her.

"Easy," a familiar voice murmured. "You had a bad fall. Be careful."

Gwen squinted through the darkness, trying to place the voice in her fuzzy mind. "J – Jo?" she whispered hesitantly.

A soft laugh, abruptly cut off by a pained gasp.

No… it couldn't be. "Sammi?" she asked hesitantly.

"You got there in the end, sis." Gwen could hear a wry smile in her voice.

Gwen moved forward, reaching out for her sister despite her injury. There she was, her familiar smell, her strong, secure arms that promised things would be alright. Gwen buried her face in Sammi's unruly hair as she wound her arms around her back and clutched her sister tightly to her. She could imagine that hair, its odd mixture of brown-black and natural sandy blonde highlights. It reached past her shoulders, longer than Gwen could ever remember it being.

"I missed you," Gwen whispered.

"I missed you, too," came the reply.

"Is there a light in here?" Gwen asked.

"Hold on…" There was a fumbling sound as Sammy let go of Gwen and reached around to something behind her. A match suddenly flared. Gwen blinked at the onslaught to her eyes. The bright glare of the match softened to the warm glow of an oil lamp, and Sammi's familiar face came into view.

She looked just the same, and yet… on closer inspection, she'd changed so much. Gwen recalled that Sammi had been shot close to her heart. It clearly showed on her face. Sammi looked like she'd barely recovered from the injury. Her face was drawn, her cheekbones jutting out sharply, her tired eyes large in her too-thin face.

"You look tired," Gwen whispered.

Sammi gave a dry laugh. "You don't –"

"HEY!" A thickly accented voice yelled, making both girls flinch. "No speak."

Sammi pursed her lips and held up a finger to stop Gwen making a snappy retort.

After what felt like forever, Sammi lowered her finger, and spoke more quietly than before. "You thought I was Jo," she whispered. "Do you know where she is?"

Gwen's eyes grew large. "I thought…" she looked around in the warm glow of the oil lamp as realisation dawned. "She's not… here?"

Sammi shook her head, anxiety spreading across her face. "I don't know where she might be. Unless…"

"I don't like that look on your face." Gwen noted.

Sammi grimaced, twisting her gaunt features. "Neither do I. But it's a possibility."

"What's a possibility?"

"They might be interrogating her. As she's older, they might assume that she knows more." A sudden thought seemed to occur to her. "Hey, who was the senior agent, anyway? I'm assuming you came here to fetch me."

"We did," Gwen confirmed. "But…" she hesitated. Her eyes flicked around the room again. There was at least one guy outside the door, who could obviously hear if they talked at a normal volume. How many others…?

Gwen decided to play it safe. She couldn't risk the scale of their operation from becoming known. Who knew how many people could hear their conversation? With the impossibly tiny size of listening bugs these days, their every word could be being recorded. She would have to lie for the greater good.

"It was – Jo. Despite her past grievances, she does have way more experience than me. I just completed Basic Training." She added, proudly.

"Congrats. So, tell me – "

There was a sharp bang, before light spilled through the now open doorway. A thick shadow blocked the light as he threw in a much smaller bundle. It made a soft moaning noise as it hit the floor. The giant in the doorway shifted slightly, allowing the light to fall on the person.

It was Jo.

Sammi leaned forward and touched her face tentatively, brushing her black hair from where it covered her face. She stifled a gasp at the sight of the long red gash running from temple to cheek and the red welts on her other cheek. Bruises were forming by her chin and around her eyes. Her nose looked broken.

"What have you done to her?" Sammi's cold voice cut the short burst of silence. "Answer me!"

A voice spoke from behind the hulking figure in the doorway; a man's voice, with a very English accent. "Take the small one. She's next."

The shadow began to move forward as Gwen realised what was happening and scrambled backwards.

"No!" Sammi shouted, leaping to her feet and rushing towards Gwen and the shadow. "She doesn't know anything! Please, you don't need her, she's only ten. She –"

The shadow barely spared her a glance as he backhanded her across the room. Sammi fell with a barely audible gasp.

"Careful," the Englishman at the door murmured. "She's our bargaining chip. Try not to harm her…too badly."

The shadow grunted assent as he reached out and grabbed Gwen under the arms.

She screamed and thrashed out wildly, the adrenaline masking the pain in her ankle as she twisted her head to the side and bit down hard on the shadow's arm. He grunted in pain, but his grip was like iron, cold and unyielding, no matter how hard she tried to escape.

Snarling, the shadow lost his patience with the girl gone half-wild with fear, and slammed her head against the wall, knocking her unconscious.

...

When Gwen came round, she was strapped to a hard metal chair, her wrists bound behind her. The room was tiny, far too small for the two chairs, metal table, four men and Gwen. The walls were made of concrete, the only light from a single naked bulb hanging from a long wire on the ceiling.

_It's all rather James Bond_, Gwen found herself thinking.

The only person she recognised was the shadow that had hauled her from Sammi and knocked her unconscious. There were two equally large men to either side of her, and a short, stout man in the chair directly opposite her.

This man was talking to the shadow, his face turned away from Gwen. One of the men beside her cleared his throat loudly, breaking the stout man off from his conversation. He turned around, letting Gwen see him.

He was ordinary. Brown hair, brown eyes, a little on the heavier side of muscled. A larger nose than average was his only distinguishing feature. But his eyes never stopped moving, flicking around, taking in every detail. This was someone not to be reckoned with. He gave Gwen a sly smile.

"Well, well, well. Gwyneth Ling Adams. How nice of you to join us."

Gwen eyed him warily, unsure of how to respond. _Don't tell him anything_, she thought to herself.

The silence stretched on.

Finally, the man sighed woefully. "You're as quiet as your sister started off. Did you see what we did to her? I can quite easily arrange for the same, if you like. But we need not go that far."

One of the men beside her pulled out a delicate knife. The handle was polished to a smooth, elegant finish, with a shiny blade twice the size of the handle and wicked – looking serrated edges. Gwen watched it out of the corner of her eye as the man continued to speak.

"I assume you're wondering who I am. You may call me Junior. I'm an old friend of your father's."

Gwen frowned as she surveyed him. "No friend of my dad's would ever do anything like this." She proclaimed.

Junior snorted. "I assure you, we are most definitely not friends now. He ruined my life."

"My dad doesn't ruin lives; he _saves_ lives."

"He put my father in prison. I was forced to scrounge a living from others when I could have just got it all from my dad. He's dead now. He died in prison from lung cancer." Junior snarled. "That never would have happened if he'd stayed a free man."

"Maybe he should have quit smoking." Gwen shot back.

Junior slammed a fist on the table, making her jump. The fear was starting to gnaw at her. Junior took some deep breaths, then, strangely, he smiled. "I like this one. She has guts. A damned shame…"

"What is?" Gwen asked, putting as much brash confidence in her voice as she could manage.

"Why are you here?" Junior asked.

Gwen's eyes narrowed. She suddenly had no idea what to say. They had hashed out a simple cover story to explain their disappearance before they left. But her mind was blank. The cover story, the cover story…

She opened her mouth, ready to spew a bunch of lies, when it came to her. She closed her eyes in a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods were listening. Eyes still shut tight, she spoke.

"We received a tip-off about a month ago concerning a drug cartel based out of the Maldives," she began in a hesitant tone. "We came to find out what's happening."

_I've gotten away with it_, she thought in relief, until she opened her eyes to find Junior glaring murderously at her.

_"Liar!"_ he screamed. He slapped her face hard. "_How dare you lie to me?_ Your life is in my hands little girl!"

He nodded to the man to the left of her. The one with the knife. "This is Dancer. So called, because he likes to make his knife dance in pretty patterns." Junior smiled nastily. "I'm going to ask you again. Why are you here?"

She gave him her best glare. "I told the truth." She said quietly.

"You did not, and you know it." His face was inches from hers, his spit flying. "We heard you talking to your bitch of a sister. You came looking for her! _Who told you where we are?_ There is a traitor in our midst, and I need to know who!" he snarled.

_Damn it_, Gwen thought. _Damn, damn, damn…_

She gave Junior the prettiest, sweetest smile she could muster, before spitting a huge glob of phlegm into his open mouth.

A cold, hard mask settled over his features. "You'll pay for that, little girl."

Her screams echoed throughout the small room.

...

_**A/N So, what do you think? REVIEW, and I'll write faster!**_


	21. Past

_**A/N Thank you all for your reviews! They all mean so much. Anyway, this chapter took me a while to write. I still don't think it's perfect, but I wanted to update it for you all. Let me know what you think in a review!**_

The Future

Junior glared out of the window, brooding over a cup of coffee. Neither girl had yielded any worthwhile information, despite what his henchmen had put them both through. Junior had ordered Gwyneth back in the room with her sisters, in the hopes that being together would yield more information over the listening devices. In truth, watching the torture sessions made him want to puke. He pushed the thought aside each time, but that didn't help his stomach.

_Stop it_, he chided himself. _Only cowards feel ill. And they deserve it._

He had told himself these things over and over again. It was, ultimately, James' fault that his father had died in prison, ergo his sprogs deserved everything that came to them, if they wouldn't give up the information.

Junior had suspicions. Two girls alone could not hope to spring another that was kept under such secure conditions. There must be at least one adult around. He'd stepped security up massively since he became aware of the impending mission. But all that he'd known was that there was a mission. He had no details. The informer was terrible, he decided. It didn't matter if he came from a reputable source.

The day he met her was as fresh in his mind as if it had just happened…

…

_The rain drummed relentlessly against the cracked paving stone. Junior exited the bar, the smile sliding off his face as he did so. How dare they say anything about his father? His father had been a great man._

_ He turned down a dingy alley that led to what he called – for now – home. Vomit congealed in sticky puddles that Junior was careful to avoid as he stalked down it. The rage was fighting its way up, fuelled by alcohol and a long grudge._

_ He remembered the man's goofy-looking face, his lies spewing from his mouth like worms. The fury was pounding through him, until he couldn't control it and –_

_CRACK._

_Junior moaned as his hand erupted in pain. Despite that, it cleared his head a little. Enough to hear the snigger that came from behind a foul-smelling bin._

_He lifted his head and glared in that direction._

"_I can hear you," he snarled. "If you've got something to say, come out and say it!"_

_The alley stayed silent. Nothing happened for so long, in fact, that Junior began to doubt that he'd ever heard anything. He began to turn away, muttering under his breath, when a clear voice spoke clearly from behind him._

"_You know," it said. "It's really not a good idea to pick a fight with someone twice your size."_

_Junior whipped around, stomach heaving as the walls spun. Finally, he located the source of the voice._

_A woman stood there, swathed in black against the unusual cold of the autumn. She cocked her head to one side. _

"_Unless you're stupid," she continued. "Which, evidently, would not be a terrible guess."_

"_Don't talk to me like that," Junior sneered. His stomach was still rolling around like it wanted to jump ship. He swallowed back bile._

_The woman laughed. She was quite tall, Junior noted. "I know, Keith Moore Junior." She said softly. "Since daddy got nicked, life's been tough, hasn't it? No more free drugs or illegal alcohol, everyone patronising you because your Keith Moore Senior's son, Mummy can't be bothered to deal with your issues, a twin that grows up and away from you, the only real friend you've ever known pulling the same disappearing act twice in a row. It must be hard to be you."_

_Junior stopped and stared. He forgot everything. Even the nausea receded. "H – how do- How can you… know that? Who are you?" he whispered. His entire life had just been laid out on a platter, for the world to see._

_The woman's face grew serious. "Do you know who's to blame for ruining your life? Because I do."_

_Junior was shocked. Who was to blame? No-one was to blame. Well, maybe the police. But instead, Junior said, "Who?"_

"_D'you remember your old buddy James?" Junior detected the trace of an Australian accent._

"_Of course I do. How could I not?" Junior sighed. He missed his friend, although when he thought about it, he realised that they really hadn't known each other for all that long._

_The woman surveyed him, a sly look in the glint of her eye. "Do you not think," she began, "That it's a bit odd that every time James appeared, the police took down those closest to you. Your father and his operation, your gang buddies… you?"_

_He was quiet. That was an interesting question. But Junior was unperturbed. "And how would one teenage boy go about doing this?" He asked sarcastically._

"_I think we should continue this conversation in the confines of your house. Come along." She walked purposefully past him, winding down the alley before exiting it and crossing the main road and stopping casually in front of his door while she waited for him to catch up. _

_He was panting as he reached her. His current lifestyle and – ah – recent alcohol consumption weren't helping him any. He fumbled around in his pocket, looking up as his fingers closed around cold metal to see that the door was already open, the woman already halfway up the stairs._

"_How…? Never mind." He mumbled, hurrying up the stairs after her._

_The door to his flat was open as well, the woman perched on a stool by the bar._

_Once Junior had carefully closed the door, the woman patted the stool beside her._

_He sat down carefully. She leaned forward and spoke in a quiet, urgent voice. _

"_What I'm about to tell you is beyond top secret. The only people that know about it are the Intelligence Minister and the Prime Minister."_

_Junior nodded, curious. The shock of this meeting and the intrigue was pushing him towards sobriety, clearing the haze in his head._

"_James and his so-called 'family' belonged to an undercover organization consisting of child spies."_

_Junior waited. And waited._

"_So… what's the punchline?" he grinned._

"_This is not a joke! Don't you want revenge for your father?" she snarled._

_Junior was taken aback. "Of course, but why would I want to hurt James when he had nothing to do with it? I mean, child spies? Come on."_

_The woman closed her eyes, visibly calming herself. "This is why it exists. Imagine you're… well, like your father. You control all the imports and exports of drugs in a large area. Every adult that you meet that is the slightest bit interested in your work could be a potential undercover police, looking to sabotage your whole operation. You're never going to trust anyone outside your immediate circle. But your son's new best friend? Sure. Take 'em on holiday, let them in your house, whatever. They're just kids, right? And all the while they're setting up traps, planting listening bugs, gathering evidence. Next thing you know, your daddy's in prison._

"_And that," she concluded, "is exactly what happened to you. That was James' doing."_

_Junior's face darkened. "How do I know I can trust you?"_

_She gave a wicked smile. "You don't. Just know that we have a common goal."_

_Junior sat down on the grotty sofa, the picture of ease with his hands behind his head as he posed his next question. "So how is it your goal? What's James ever done to you?"_

"_Well…" An uncomfortable look flashed over her features. "He's not done anything to me, per se. It's more what he did to my organisation."_

_Junior gave a withering look. "Your 'organisation'?"_

"_Well, not _my_ organisation, per se. I'm just a sympathiser. You see, he played a key role in reducing it to almost nothing. I heard they were looking for a boy who'd been spotted both times right before a huge blow came against them, and I happened to know who he and where he was."_

"_And how do you know James?"_

_There was a pause._

"_I was his mentor."_

"_His mentor?" Junior exclaimed. "Then how could you do such a thing?"_

"_Trust me, I don't do it lightly." The woman smiled tiredly. "I have to. I have no choice."_

"_There's always a choice," Junior disagreed, wondering why he was playing devils' advocate here. This was his chance for revenge on his father, was it not? So why did even thinking about it feel like betrayal?_

_The woman shook her head slowly. "Not for me there isn't."_

_Junior leaned forward, the better to look her in the eye. "What's your name?" he asked softly._

_She gave him a long searching look. "Amy Collins."_

_..._

_**A/N So? What do you think? Amy does have motive, I'll tell you that! Leave a review!**  
><em>


	22. Rescue

**__****_A/N Last day of the holidays, so I thought I'd finish this chapter before life started :) Anyway, read and review!_**

...

The Future

The door crashed open with a loud bang. Junior leaped up from his chair, hand going for his gun, the other men in the room doing the same.

"What a … lovely welcome," Amy Collins said with distaste as she walked in and swiped a finger across a grimy counter. She grimaced. "Delightful."

"Amy." Junior said by way of greeting, stowing his gun away in his jeans. His men did the same. "We didn't know you were coming."

"Yes, well, I decided that giving warnings means you don't see the true operation. Ergo, I'm hear to see what you've been up to since the last time I was here."

"Last time you were here, we made a plan that ended up with half my men ending up in prison," Junior said, beginning to frown as he remembered his fury.

"Let's not dig up the hatchet, Junior," Amy said hastily. She looked up at him expectantly. "So what's been going on?"

"Well, as I'm sure you know, we kidnapped the middle one when it looked like she was going to live," he began.

Amy held up a finger. "Have you ransomed her, yet?" she asked.

"Uh, no, not exactly." Junior shifted uncomfortably. "We were going to, but we were waiting until she was stronger, but… somehow this – what was it? CHERUB, or something? – well, they worked out where they were and, to cut a long story short, we know have all three girls in the cell."

"Instead of giving James his daughter back in return for some Intel… you kidnapped his other two daughters as well." Amy clarified.

"That's correct."

…

Back at the warehouse, Kerry and James were suiting up with body armour, ready for the inevitable altercation that was awaiting them. They had the latest lightweight bulletproof carbon fibre vests and aerodynamic helmets. Although, why the helmets needed to be aerodynamic, James had no idea. They were, however, tried, tested and true, so they would be wearing them.

Kerry looked across to where James was fastening his vest and smiled. "James, you're doing it all wrong. Come here."

He watched the brush of her lashes against her cheeks as she did it up right. He suddenly found himself wondering if this was the last time he would see her. There was every possibility that they might not get through the looming epic battle.

Kerry looked up and smiled. "What?"

He shook his head. "I was just… thinking that I love you."

Her smile turned sad. "I love you too. I wish this wasn't happening." Her voice caught.

He stroked her hair back from her face. "I know. I do, too. Sometimes I wonder if Lauren was the one doing it right. Not telling Lily anything… keeping her safe. But then I remember that I want them to know us and our past. And I want them to be able to make their own choices in life."

"I know. I just want them back. I want them safe." She leaned back so she could see his face. "And that's why we're doing this."

"Precisely." James gave her an encouraging smile and leaned down to kiss her.

However, a voice interrupted them.

"James, Kerry, I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Joshua looked grave.

Kerry leaned into James for support, fearing the worst. "Go on."

"We don't have clearance for this. There are too few of us and too many unknown factors. The Prime Minister has ordered us to pull the plug on this mission."

"What?!" Kerry leapt away from James. "Joshua, if you are screwing with me, I will kick you so hard you won't ever be able to have children." She snarled.

James grabbed Kerry's hand to stop her doing anything she might regret later.

Joshua shrugged helplessly. "I can't so anything. I can't disobey a direct order like this. We have no choice!"

"If you think for a minute," James began quietly. "That we aren't going to help our daughters, then you have another thing coming to you. Josh, you don't have children. You can't know how this feels, we have to help them, at whatever cost. We have to get them to safety."

"Damn right." Kerry snarled, straining against James' hold on her arm.

"I' m so sorry. You have no idea, it kills me to do this," he started.

"I have no idea?" Kerry's voice was climbing through the octaves as desperation started to mix with her rage. "My children are at the mercy of criminals who would kill them without so much as a backwards glance! Don't you dare stand there and tell me I 'don't know how it feels.'"

"We can't not help them, Josh," James said quietly. "We'll just have to rescue them without your help."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Joshua matched his tone. "You're too valuable for me to fire, and I can't let you die. Because that's what will happen. I'm really sorry, but Gunner here is going to tie you up and keep an eye on you. I'm truly, truly sorry, but I hope that one day you'll thank me."

James and Kerry gaped at him. This was unthinkable. But a beefy security guard was coming towards them with a thick rope.

…

The cell was quiet. Jo had her ear presses against the door, while Sammi was trying to hear through the tiny window slit in the wall. Gwen was lying on the straw in the corner of the room that Sammi had used as a bed, too sore to move.

There had been a commotion earlier on in the day, with a lot of banging and yelling. They'd deduced that someone important had arrived; they were trying to find out whom, but there'd been almost nothing after the initial flurry of activity. It was getting dark now, and they were all tired and sore and on the verge of giving up.

Jo looked over at Sammi and then at Gwen lying in as comfortable a position as she could manage in her state. It was awful. Jo would have quite happily have taken her beating as well as her own; Gwen was so little, yet she'd come back worse off than Jo and Sammi combined.

She sighed. "You guys, I think we should leave this for now. We'll try to learn something more in the morning, alright?"

Sammi and Gwen murmured assent.

"We should keep a guard," Gwen said softly. "I'll go first, I can't sleep anyway. I'll poke one of you, or something, if anyone comes."

"Are you sure?" Jo whispered.

"Of course. Sleep. You need to keep your strength up." Gwen said, half-smiling.

The hours whiled away. Gwen knew that she should probably wake Jo or Sammi to take over, but she couldn't stop thinking. She knew that there was only a very remote chance that they would get out of this alive. Most likely they'd be shot. Britain liked to be known for not paying ransoms, so if one was given, Gwen was pretty sure the Government would shoot it down, no matter their role in keeping the country safe. Such was life.

It was as Gwen was mulling over these morbid subjects that the door emitted a soft clunk. Gwen's head snapped up, and she gripped Jo's arm to wake her up. She sat up instantly, reaching out to grab Sammi as well. Jo and Sammi stood defensively in front of Gwen when the person came in.

They were shorter than the average height for men, dressed all in black with a long coat and a hood that completely obscured their face. The person didn't speak for the longest moment. Then;

"Quick. I have them all busy for the moment. If you want to escape, then this is your chance."

When none of them moved, the person made a frustrated sound. "Come on! D'you want to get out of here or not? Come with me!"

She was a woman, Jo realised. Not a man like she expected. "Who are you?"

The woman removed her hood. Her blonde hair glowed dimly from the light outside the cell.

"Amy." Jo breathed.

...

**_A/N Review!_**


	23. Blast

The Future

Gwen sucked in a sharp breath as they all stared in amazement at the woman who had shot Sammi.

Amy swallowed, her mouth moving silently as she struggled to come up with an explanation.

Jo reached out a hand to tug on Sammi's sleeve, taking her along as she stepped back.

"Look, I know that you have every reason to hate me," She began.

"That's for damn sure." Sammi muttered.

"But, please. I want to help. I made some bad choices and you have no idea how much I regret them. Help Earth used me. I just want to show them that they don't own me."

Sammi raised her head incredulously. "That's it? You just want to suck up to someone else. You've had enough of these bas-"

"Why do we need you?" Jo interrupted. "The door's open. Why should we not make a run for it and escape by ourselves?"

"By all means," Amy stepped aside with a flourish. "But I guarantee you won't get far without me."

"We're CHERUB agents," Gwen said quietly. "I'm pretty sure we can manage."

"On you go, then," Amy said. "One last thing – I'm sorry. Sorry that I wasn't better to your family. Sorry that I let you all down."

"Sorry doesn't make any of it better." Jo said. "Come on, girls. Let's go."

…

"I cannot believe this." Kerry muttered for the umpteenth time. "I cannot bloody believe this."

She and James sat back-to-back, their wrist tied together and their ankles bound to the chairs they were sitting on. Thick rope was wound around them both, keeping them firmly attached to the chairs.

James' head was thumping. He could feel his broken nose pulsing in time with the headache. "Kerry," he said. "Kerry, that isn't going to help."

"Well, I don't see you coming up with any fabulous ideas."

"Oh, really? What do you think I've been doing for the past however many hours?"

Kerry sat up straighter.

"Ouch." James muttered as he, too, was forced upright.

"You have something?" Kerry breathed.

"Down the side of my boot, I have a penknife. If I flick my boot to you, do you think you can get it out?"

Kerry slumped in her seat.

"For gods' sake, Kerry, can you not do that?" James hissed.

"That's it?" Kerry asked. "Your ankles are tied together, how the hell are you supposed to flick your boot, it's attached to your other foot, and even then, the chances of me catching it are slim. You don't have the best aim."

"You're wrong."

"Excuse me? I know exactly what you're aim is like, James –"

"No," James whispered. "My foot." And then he brought his foot around to where Kerry could see it.

Kerry frowned incredulously. "How did you manage that?"

"At MI5, we had to take advanced knots and ropes courses. Never seemed particularly useful at the time, but obviously it's come in handy now."

Kerry stared at the boot, her mind racing. "If you can do that with your feet," she began slowly. "Why don't you just unknot our hands."

"Oh, yeah," James replied. "Oh, I didn't think of that."

"Typical."

…

The three girls crept through the compound, the shadows shivering and shaking with each flicker of the light bulbs. Gwen had an arm wrapped around Sammy as they struggled to support each other while Jo went on ahead as the most able.

Jo peeked around a corner, before beckoning to them. They hurried around the corner, Gwen's laboured breathing echoing off the walls.

"She can't do this. She's too weak." She gently prodded Gwen's ribs, eliciting an agonised hiss. "She's got at least one broken rib."

"That could puncture a lung," Jo realised. Her hands pressed against her temples as she hissed in frustration. "We need help. We can't carry her and get out at the same time. Neither of us is fit. Dammit!"

"Sssshh!" Sammy held up a hand, listening intently. "Do you hear that?"

Sammy and Jo stared at each other wide-eyed as the sound of boots echoed down the corridor.

…

"Can you drive this?" James asked as he stared at the infinitely complicated set of buttons and levers, dials and controls before her. "Because I sure can't."

"It can't be hard. Those guys in there do it all the time. Look, there's a steering wheel." She walked over to the wheel in question, sliding into the seat and taking the wheel in her hands. "And then… ah. Pedals." She turned round and grinned. "Genius, huh?"

"Yeah. Now go." James sat in the seat next to her.

Kerry slowly swung the car around, aiming it squarely at the wire mesh fence. She looked over at James. "Ready?"

He turned to face her. "Ready."

Kerry stomped on the accelerator, heading straight for the fence.

The van hurtled towards the fence, people diving left and right to avoid it.

And with a crash and a screech the van ripped through the fence, cracking the windscreen and scratching the paint off in large swathes from the front of the van.

Kerry gasped in relief as they cleared the fence. "Okay, we're through. Where now?"

"Uh, left." James unclenched his fists and flexed his fingers. "Never again. Okay. Let's go and save our children."

…

"Quick!" Jo hissed. "Pull!"

"I'm trying!" Sammy reached forward, gave an almighty tug and hauled Gwen into the vent.

Jo snatched up the grate, scrambled in with her sisters and gently replaced the grate, just as a torch beam fell across the spot where she'd been standing less than thirty seconds ago.

"This is ridiculous," a deep voice grumbled. "We're supposed to be blowing stuff up, not running around after children."

"There's no use complaining." A thinner voice said slowly. "Shush. What was that?"

Sammy hurriedly placed a hand over Gwen's mouth as both she and Jo held their breath.

Light footsteps came pattering down the corridor from the direction that they'd come from.

"They went that way." Amy said to the men. "Well? Aren't you going to go after them?"

"Why didn't you apprehend them?" the thin voice asked quietly.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Amy exclaimed.

There was a pause.

"No." the deeper voice said.

"No, ma'am." Amy snapped. "Now get after them."

A scramble of feet followed these words. There was a long pause as Jo and Sammy looked at each other.

"You can come out now." Amy spoke softly, closer than they had expected. Jo jumped.

Amy opened the grate and helped them out. Her eyes widened when she saw the state of Gwen in the light.

"Ok. We need to get you out of here quickly. Follow me, as fast as you can."

Amy led them through the compound, guards coming to attention in fright as she swept past, Sammy and Jo following at her heels, carrying Gwen between them.

It was as they were crossing the empty car park that the shots rang out.

"Go!" Amy shouted as she dropped to one knee and produced a pistol. A dark van came hurtling out of the corner, the door opening as it screeched to a stop.

"Get in!" James screamed as the guns kept firing and his daughters ran towards him.

He hauled them roughly into the van, before slamming the door shut and yelling at Kerry to go.

He didn't close the door fast enough. They still saw Amy explode in a mess of blood and gore.


	24. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

AMY COLLINS was killed in the shootout that took place as she helped JOANNA, SAMMY and GWEN ADAMS escape from the Help Earth compound. She was cremated and her ashes scattered over the Australian outback, where she spent her holidays with her family.

JUNIOR MOORE was arrested and charged for multiple acts of terrorism, child kidnapping, torture of a minor and attempted murder.

JAMES and KERRY CHOKE took their children back to the MI5 base, where all three girls were given emergency treatment for various injuries and shock. Afterwards, they went on a month-long family holiday to the Spanish coast. Joanna, Sammy and Gwen have yet to decide if they wish to continue their roles as CHERUB agents.

JOSHUA ASKER was reprimanded by the Prime Minister and Intelligence Minister for his conduct in the rescue mission. However, he retained his post as CHERUB Chairman.

...

_**A/N So there we have it. Finally. Sorry for the wait, I've been extraordinarily busy, what with exams and everything. This was my preparation for my English exam tomorrow. Anyway - I hope you enjoyed the end of what has been a very long story. It turned out a little differently to what I expected, but that's story writing for you. Please review and tell me what you thought of it. :)**_

_**SB13**_


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